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Reich

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: reich and -reich

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Noun

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.
    • 2021, Steven Best, “Failed species”, in Romanian Journal of Artistic Creativity, volume 9, number 2:
      The Human Reich over nature is inherently flawed, catastrophically overextended, and soon to fall on its own sword.
    • 2023 October 24, Thomas W. Murphy, “Our Ugly Magnificence”, in Do the Math‎ (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

  • 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.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Proper noun

Reich

  1. A surname from German.

Statistics

  • 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.

Anagrams

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Bavarian

Request for quotations This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes, then please add them!

Etymology

From Middle High German rîche (“empire, kingdom, realm”, noun). Cognate with German Reich.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

Reich n (plural Reicha)

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

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

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