NODE / 0773reconstructedProto-Germanic
*rīkja-
TRANSLITERATION *rīkja-
powerful, rich, kingly
- DATE
- Proto-Germanic horizon
- SENSE
- powerful kingly adjective
- FAMILY
- Indo-European / Germanic
- CANONICAL KEY
- node:5:rikja:reconstructed:sense:powerful-kingly-adjective
Germanic formation borrowed from Celtic according to the root appendix.
*This form is reconstructed by comparison. It is not directly attested in this exact written form.
01ANCESTRAL EDGES
ROOT OF THIS ROOT
02DIRECT DESCENDANT EDGES
THE NEXT HISTORICAL STEP
DESCENDANTinheritanceestablished
Old English · Old English · strong powerful adjectiverīce
strong, powerful
- SOUND
- Old English rīce reflects Germanic *rīkja-.
- MEANING
- The powerful or kingly adjective supports later wealth senses.
- CHRONOLOGY
- The Germanic form is reconstructed.
- SCHOLAR
- Calvert Watkins and American Heritage Dictionary Editors
- CONFIDENCE
- established
DESCENDANTborrowingestablished
Old French · Old French · wealthy adjectiveriche
rich, wealthy
- SOUND
- Old French riche continues a Germanic *rīkja- family form through historical borrowing.
- MEANING
- Powerful and wealthy remain linked across the Germanic-to-Romance route.
- CHRONOLOGY
- The Germanic parent is reconstructed; Old French is attested.
- SCHOLAR
- Calvert Watkins and American Heritage Dictionary Editors
- CONFIDENCE
- established
03TRANSITIVE DESCENDANT CLOSURE
EVERY REVIEWED BRANCH FROM HERE
This is the complete downstream closure currently supported by the canonical graph. Every displayed step is a real reviewed edge with its own sound claim, meaning claim, scholar, confidence, and citations.
- UNIQUE DESCENDANT NODES
- 4
- REVIEWED EDGES
- 5
- DEEPEST PATH
- 3
- MODERN DOSSIERS REACHED
- 1
HISTORICAL STEP 012 EDGES
STEP 01inheritanceestablished
- SOUND
- Old English rīce reflects Germanic *rīkja-.
- MEANING
- The powerful or kingly adjective supports later wealth senses.
Calvert Watkins and American Heritage Dictionary Editors1 CITATIONEDGE 772 ↗ STEP 01borrowingestablished
- SOUND
- Old French riche continues a Germanic *rīkja- family form through historical borrowing.
- MEANING
- Powerful and wealthy remain linked across the Germanic-to-Romance route.
Calvert Watkins and American Heritage Dictionary Editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 781 ↗ HISTORICAL STEP 022 EDGES
STEP 02inheritanceestablished
- SOUND
- Middle English riche continues Old English rīce while also receiving French-family influence represented separately.
- MEANING
- Strong and powerful develop toward wealthy and abundant.
Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 771 ↗ STEP 02borrowing influenceestablished
- SOUND
- Old French riche reinforces Middle English riche alongside the inherited Old English branch.
- MEANING
- The French wealth adjective converges with English power-and-wealth material.
American Heritage Dictionary Editors1 CITATIONEDGE 780 ↗ HISTORICAL STEP 031 EDGE
STEP 03continuationestablished
- SOUND
- Modern rich continues Middle English riche through English spelling and sound history.
- MEANING
- Power and wealth broaden across abundance, value, color, flavor, and intensity.
Merriam-Webster Editors · American Heritage Dictionary Editors2 CITATIONSEDGE 770 ↗ “Every” means every descendant in the reviewed SET-U graph. It does not convert missing scholarship or missing ingestion into a claim of historical completeness. The coverage ledger remains the honest denominator.
04RECORDED EVIDENCE
ATTESTATIONS / FIRST KNOWN USE
NO RECORDED WITNESS ATTACHED.That is expected for a reconstructed form: the node is inferred from comparison, not quoted from a surviving occurrence.
05EDITORIAL REUSE
WORD DOSSIERS USING THIS NODE