Reich

:This article refers to the German word Reich, and in particular to its historical and political implications. For other uses for Reich, see Reich (disambiguation)

Etymology and cognates

Reich has an extensive etymology: it comes from a Germanic word for "king", which was borrowed from Celtic. It has cognates in many other languages, all ultimately descended from the Proto-Indo-European root *reg-, meaning "to straighten out" or "rule", also the source of English right. The cognates can be grouped linguistically as follows:

Related Topics:
Etymology - Germanic - Celtic - Cognate - Proto-Indo-European

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Celtic group

Proto-Celtic *rīg-, "king", from the lengthened e-grade (see: ablaut). Borrowed into Germanic as *rīks-. Hence:

Related Topics:
Proto-Celtic - Ablaut

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• Various Celtic words for "king", reflected also in such place-names as Portree, "the king's port".
• Old High German: richi; Modern German Reich (all senses); Reichtum "riches"; but not the unrelated verb reichen, "to reach", or its derivative Bereich, "subject area, sphere".
• Old English: r?ce; Modern English: bishopric; rich.
• Dutch: rijk
• Danish: rige
• Swedish: rike; Sverige, "Sweden".
• Old Norse: rike (as in Gårdarike).
• French: riche (borrowed from Germanic)
• Many Germanic personal names, including Frederick, Dietrich and Richard.

Original Germanic group

Although the line of descent of Reich and its closest cognates came into Germanic sideways from Celtic, Germanic also inherited the same Indo-European root directly in a suffixed form of the e-grade, *reg-to-, hence:

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• Old High German: rihte; Modern German Recht, "justice"; recht, "right"; richtig, "correct"; Richter, "judge"; Gericht, "court".
• Old English: riht; Modern English: right; righteous.

Latin

The basic e-grade form of the root came into Latin as: regere (supine stem rectus), "to rule"; rex, regis, "king"; regalis, "kingly". A suffixed, lengthened e-grade form, *rēg-ola- gives us Latin regula, "rod". Hence:

Related Topics:
Latin - Rex

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• French: roi "king", droit "law, right" and many others.
• German: regieren, Regierung, Regel
• English (straight from Latin): regent; regal; regulate; rector; rectangle; erect; (borrowed via French): royal, reign; viceroy; realm; rule and countless others.

Sanskrit

The Sanskrit word, from a lengthened-grade suffixed form *rēg-en-, is rājā, "king", hence the words for rulers in various Indian language. Of interest to English speakers: Raj, used of the British rule in India; and Maharaja, literally "the great king" (exactly parallel to Latin magnus rex).

Related Topics:
Indian language - Raj - Maharaja

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Others

• Old Prussian: reiks
• Lithuanian: reichas
• Polish: rzesza
• Czech: říše

References

• The Reich as Task