*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Reich

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

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A surname from German. · A municipality in Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

noun

A German empire, kingdom or nation; its territory or government. · The Third Reich; Nazi Germany. · Any empire, especially one that is imperialist, tyrannical, and/or racist.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*h₃reǵ-ine-pro
  • Borrowed-form mentionReichde
  • Doublet mentionRajen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "de:Reich<t:realm>"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"realm\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"kingdom\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"kingdom\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"kingdom\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"to straighten\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₃reǵ-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"lengthened acrostatic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-s\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₃rḗǵs\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Celtic\", \"term\" : \"*rīgyom\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"cel-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*rīkiją\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*rīkī\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old High German\", \"term\" : \"rīhhi\", \"lang\" : \"goh\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle High German\", \"term\" : \"rīche\", \"lang\" : \"gmh\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"German\", \"term\" : \"Reich\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"de\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Reich\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Reich\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*h₃reǵ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Reich",
        "4": "",
        "5": "empire, realm"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from German Reich (“empire, realm”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Raj"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Raj"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "de:Reich<t:realm>"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Reich",
      "Reich#German"
    ],
    [
      "Raj",
      "Raj#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname from German.",
        "A municipality in Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "a8c6b35de0b29c3729f51fb6e3297a3c291e58f59000273ed6e94055f0a738a0",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 332110
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A German empire, kingdom or nation; its territory or government.",
        "The Third Reich; Nazi Germany.",
        "Any empire, especially one that is imperialist, tyrannical, and/or racist."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "f7db2ee02615a4cf836f931dfa401946e3be9982ca66c804a8eb3d8ae521891b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 332109
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Reich →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-UmVpY2g