purview

noun

pur·​view ˈpər-ˌvyü 

1

a

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

The case is within the court's purview.

That question is beyond my purview.

The show wasn't without flaws—some of which stretched beyond the singer's purview.

—Bob Gendron

b

: range of vision, understanding, or cognizance

… when some feature of the environment or some event comes into our purview and demands our immediate and conscious attention.

—Derek Bickerton

2

a

: the body or enacting part of a statute

b

: the limit, purpose, or scope of a statute

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

Although the central story is intimate in scale, the film’s scope is large and its social purview deep, and this vast amplitude is a function of Ouédraogo’s way of staging action, or, rather, of envisioning it. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026

Noem has also been criticized for not addressing the needs of other agencies under DHS purview, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency. —Luke Barr, ABC News, 5 Mar. 2026

Since Highgrove House is under the purview of the Duchy of Cornwall, William technically owns the property today. —Elle Meier, InStyle, 3 Mar. 2026

But a recent breakthrough designation from the FDA could offer hints about its approach to regulating patient-facing chatbots that fall under its purview. —Katie Palmer, STAT, 3 Mar. 2026

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 2a

Rhymes for purview

• accrue
• ado
• ainu
• aircrew
• airscrew
• anew
• askew
• baboo
• babu
• bamboo
• beaucoup
• bijou

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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)