purview

noun

pur·view ˈpər-ˌvyü

Synonyms of purview next

: the body or enacting part of a statute

: the limit, purpose, or scope of a statute

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

: 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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The company spans a bridal line and is locally produced in limited batches under the purview of designer Rosa Esteva. —

Mikelle Street, WWD, 22 Dec. 2024 The House Ethics Committee has investigated the allegations since last year and was set to release details on its probe before Gaetz resigned from Congress, removing him from the purview of the committee’s investigation. —

Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024 While these new regulations were passed by President Joe Biden's administration, the DOT will soon fall under the purview of President-elect Donald Trump and, if confirmed, his nominee to head the department: former Wisconsin congressman and Fox News contributor Sean Duffy. —

Maia Pandey, Journal Sentinel, 19 Nov. 2024 The department has been under the purview of the state since the 1860s, when Maryland lawmakers wrested authority from the city over concerns about the violent Know Nothing Party’s influence on police forces. —

Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 6 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for purview