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realia "Realia," a word invented in the 1930s, is still mostly used in the classroom by teachers, especially foreign language teachers, and in the library by cataloguers (realia in libraries can consist of things as bizarre as an author's hair and teeth donated posthumously), but it's seeping out. You might, for example, hear of someone putting "realia" — objects that represent present-day life — in a time capsule. "Realia" is also sometimes used philosophically to distinguish real things from the theories about them. "Realia" is one of those plural formations without a corresponding singular form. Like "memorabilia" ("memorable things" or "mementos"), "juvenilia" ("works produced in an artist's or author's youth"), and "marginalia" ("marginal notes or embellishments"), it incorporates the Latin plural ending "-ia." Glossary of Colloquialisms (Starting with "R") By Natalya Belinsky, "Fluent English Educational Project"
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