Reich

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See also: reich and -reich

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from German Reich (“empire, realm”). Doublet of Raj and riche.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ɹaɪx/, /ɹaɪk/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪx, -aɪk

Noun[edit]

Reich

  1. A German empire, kingdom or nation; its territory or government.
    • 1762, A[nton] F[riedrich] Busching, “Introduction to the Description of Germany”, in [Patrick Murdoch], transl., A New System of Geography: In Which Is Given, a General Account of the Situation and Limits, the Manners, History, and Constitution, of the Several Kingdoms and States in the Known World; […], volumes IV (Containing, Part of Germany, viz. Bohemia, Moravia, Lusatia, Austria, Burgundy, Westphalia, and the Circle of the Rhine), London: […] A[ndrew] Millar […], →OCLC, page 4:
      The Empire is differently denominated as well by Germans themſelves as by others. It is called the Reich, in Latin Regnum, by way of eminence, as alſo the German Reich, in Latin Regnum Germanicum. The appellation of Germany, is ſeldom uſed now-a-days any where but in the title of the Emperor and Elector of Mentz.
  2. (in particular) The Third Reich; Nazi Germany.
    • 2016, Colin Philpott, Relics of the Reich: The Buildings The Nazis Left Behind:
    • 2017, Gerhard Engel, At the Heart of the Reich: The Secret Diary of Hitler's Army Adjutant:
    • 2019, Peter Finn, A Guest of the Reich: The Story of American Heiress Gertrude Legendre:
  3. (chiefly derogatory) Any empire, especially one that is imperialist, tyrannical, and/or racist.
    • 1936, The American Mercury, volumes 38-39, page 367:
      And so his fine words — they are excellent within these limitations — must be husbanded exclusively against foes of the Russian Reich. Nevertheless, he too turns his back on the past with a will. . . . God knows how far the Tolstoian talent […]
    • 1943, Owen Joseph Christoffer Norem, Timeless Lithuania, page 280:
      Mr. Ycas, one of their members, told me that a serious attempt was made to strike for total independence but that the majority felt it was the wise course to ask for autonomy within the Russian Reich. A Lithuanian National Council was formed.
    • 1943, Francis A. Ridley, Towards the British Revolution, page 15:
      Did not Oliver Cromwell, the founder of the British Reich, boast that hanging Irishmen always gave him an excellent appetite? Yet who could deny that he was a political and military genius? One should always compare Imperialisms […]
    • 2000, Keith Grint, The Arts of Leadership, page 161:
      Frere, obviously keen to start the thousand-year civilizing mission of the British Reich as soon as possible, invited Cetshwayo to a meeting in December 1878.
    • 2015, Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, page 226:
      […] we are presenting our analysis of the place and significance of the remote war technology within the American Reich.
    • 2017, Madhavan K. Palat, India and the World in the First Half of the Twentieth Century:
      NATO and the European Union, both led by America, embody that purpose. It preserves the sovereignty of the member states, but ultimate sovereignty rests with the American Reich and all the states willingly coordinate their policies with and subordinate themselves to American leadership.
    • 2023 October 24, Thomas W. Murphy, “Our Ugly Magnificence”, in Do the Math‎[1] (blog):
      The Human Reich is a fundamentally flawed bit of imagination that can never be realized, as we critically depend on an intact ecology.

Usage notes[edit]

  • While Germany could only be referred to as the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 when it was under the rule of an emperor (Kaiser), the term “German Reich” describes Germany until 1945.

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Reich

  1. A surname from German.

Statistics[edit]

  • According to the 2010 United States Census, Reich is the 2,796th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 12,891 individuals. Reich is most common among White (93.85%) individuals.

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Bavarian[edit]

Noun[edit]

Reich n (plural Reicha)

  1. empire or significant State
  2. realm (also e.g. of plants)

Derived terms[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German riche, from Old High German rīhhi (“power, might, empire”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīkī, from Proto-Germanic *rīkiją, itself either a substantivised *rīkijaz (“rich, mighty”) (whence also German reich (“rich”)), or a direct borrowing from a Celtic language; compare Old Irish ríge (“rule, kingship”).[1]

Cognates include Old English rīċe (“kingdom, empire”) (obsolete English riche and rike), Dutch rijk (“empire, realm”), West Frisian ryk, Danish rige (“empire, realm”), Swedish rike, Icelandic ríki, Lithuanian rikis (“military commander, ruler”), and Sanskrit राज्य (rājyá, “royalty, kingship, sovereignty, empire”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Reich n (strong, genitive Reiches or Reichs, plural Reiche)

  1. empire or significant State
    • 1868, Wilhelm Hoffmann, Deutschland einst und jetzt im Lichte des Reiches Gottes:
  2. realm (also e.g. of plants)

Declension[edit]

Declension of Reich [neuter, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein das Reich die Reiche
genitive eines des Reiches, Reichs der Reiche
dative einem dem Reich, Reiche1 den Reichen
accusative ein das Reich die Reiche

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Reich n

  1. the Holy Roman Empire, the First Reich
    • 2006, Barbara Stollberg-Rilinger, Das Heilige Römische Reich Deutscher Nation, page 81:
      Der Prager Frieden hätte den Krieg im Reich beenden können, […]
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. the Deutsche Reich
    1. the (Deutsche) Kaiserreich, the Second Reich (1871–1918)
    2. the Weimar Republic (official name, 1919–1933)
    3. the Third Reich (1933–1945)
      • 1969, Gerhard Eisenblätter, Grundlinien der Politik des Reiches gegenüber dem Generalgouvernement, 1939-1945:

Descendants[edit]

  • → English: Reich
  • → Polish: Reich
  • → Russian: рейх (rejx)

Proper noun[edit]

Reich m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Reichs or (with an article) Reich, feminine genitive Reich, plural Reichs)

  1. a surname

References[edit]

  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003) A Handbook of Germanic etymology, Leiden & Boston: Brill, page 305

Further reading[edit]

Polish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from German Reich. Doublet of rzesza.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /rajx/
  • Rhymes: -ajx
  • Syllabification: Reich

Proper noun[edit]

Reich m inan

  1. (colloquial) Germany (a country in Central Europe)
    Synonym: Niemcy

Declension[edit]

Declension of Reich
singular plural
nominative Reich Reichy
genitive Reichu Reichów
dative Reichowi Reichom
accusative Reich Reichy
instrumental Reichem Reichami
locative Reichu Reichach
vocative Reichu Reichy

Further reading[edit]

  • Reich in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from German Reich (“realm”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Reich m (plural Reichs)

  1. Reich (territory of a German empire or nation)

Derived terms[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from German Reich (“realm”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈraix/ [ˈrai̯x]
  • Rhymes: -aix
  • Syllabification: Reich

Noun[edit]

Reich m (plural Reichs)

  1. Reich (territory of a German empire or nation)

Derived terms[edit]

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