purview

noun

pur·​view ˈpər-ˌvyü 

1

a

: the body or enacting part of a statute

b

: the limit, purpose, or scope of a statute

2

: the range or limit of authority, competence, responsibility, concern, or intention

3

: range of vision, understanding, or cognizance

Did you know?

It may not be illogical to assume a connection between purview and view, but is there one? Not exactly. Although the two words share a syllable, you’ll find that they have very different histories as viewed in the etymological rearview mirror. Purview comes from purveu, a word often found in the legal statutes of 13th- and 14th-century England. These statutes, written in Anglo-French, regularly open with the phrase purveu est, which translates literally to "it is provided." Purveu in turn comes from porveu, the past participle of the Old French verb porveeir, meaning "to provide." View, on the other hand, comes (via Middle English) from the past participle of another Anglo-French word, veer, meaning "to see," and ultimately from the Latin word vidēre, of the same meaning.

Examples of purview in a Sentence

After the true shock and awe of a campaign of massive surplus, as in the Gulf War, no regime would have risked its survival by failing to go after the terrorists within its purview. —Mark Helprin, Wall Street Journal, 17 May 2004

It is the use of informal, back channels outside public or congressional purview—designed partly to thwart publicity and partly to hold down the temperature of disputes within the government—that critics say denies the protections of open government. —Bob Woodward et al., Washington Post, 20-26 Jan. 1992

… the contemporary university, though, has reached beyond the purview of education, and it has thereby become entangled in problems it lacks the means to resolve. —Louis Menand, Harper's, December 1991

The case is within the court's purview.

That question is outside my purview.

The moral dilemmas of the early settlers are beyond the purview of this book.

Recent Examples on the Web

The bill effectively transferred hemp from the purview of the Controlled Substances Act to the Department of Agriculture. —John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Apr. 2024

In the movie’s purview, Hinduism is under attack from something non-Hindu, or falsely Hindu, rather than from dangerous factions of Hinduism itself. —Siddhant Adlakha, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English purveu, from Anglo-French purveu est it is provided (opening phrase of a statute)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Legal Definition

purview

noun

pur·​view ˈpər-ˌvyü 

1

: the body of a statute or the part that begins with Be it enacted and ends before the repealing clause

2

: the limit or scope of a law

Etymology

Anglo-French purveu est it is provided (opening phrase of a statute)