Bob GendronDerek Bickerton
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
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.
Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
The Tudor-style building was built under his purview between 1531 and 1536 on the grounds of what was formerly a hospital.
—Emma Banks, InStyle, 6 Feb. 2026
Present at that raid, for reasons that remain unclear, was Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, a top intelligence official whose purview absolutely does not include domestic criminal investigations even when these have merit.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 5 Feb. 2026
What was unusual, in Lublin’s view, was for Bessent to reveal his thoughts on monetary policy — normally the purview of the Federal Reserve — and his insistence that Trump has the right to interfere with the decision-making of the central bank.
—Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for purview
Cite this Entry
“Purview.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/purview. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
purview
noun
Anglo-French purveu est it is provided (opening phrase of a statute)
