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

Any funding increase for OHRP would mean cuts to other programs in the assistant secretary’s purview, like teenage pregnancy prevention and environmental public health. —Megan Molteni, STAT, 5 June 2026

Those would be under the purview of either the House Agriculture Committee or the House Financial Services Committee. —Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 5 June 2026

Forbes lists are largely a status symbol for the 1%, but as the business publication has expanded its purview — and as the music business has grown legit billionaires — its lists and criteria have grown. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 4 June 2026

Mendoza has positioned herself as a critic of Mayor Brandon Johnson for months, pushing herself into city issues far from the purview of her statewide office. —Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 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)