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Reich
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:''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)''
{{Audio|De-Reich-pronunciation.ogg|'''''Reich'''''}} ({{IPA|/Ê?aɪç/}}), is the
German language German word for "
realm" or "
empire",
cognate with
North Germanic languages Scandinavian ''rike''/''rige'',
Dutch language Dutch ''rijk'' and
English language English ''ric'' as found in bishop''ric''. It is the word traditionally used for a variety of sovereign entities, including
Germany in many periods of its history. It is also found in the compound ''Königreich'', "kingdom", and in the country names ''Frankreich'' (
France, literally the "Realm of the Franks") and ''Österreich'' (
Austria, the "Eastern Realm"). The German version of the
Lord's Prayer uses the words ''Dein Reich komme'' for "á¼?λθÎτω ἡ βασιλεία σου" (usually translated as "thy kingdom come" in English). "Reich" can be translated in at least ten different ways: State, empire, nation, land, region, country, realm, commonwealth, domain, and res publica. [http://lookwayup.com/lwu.exe/lwu/toEng?sLang=Deu&w=Reich&h=dictpage&s=d&b=] Used adjectivally, ''reich'' is the German word for "rich", so there is also an overlap in meaning with "
commonwealth". Like its
Latin counterpart, ''imperium'', ''Reich'' does not necessarily connote a
monarchy. The
Weimar Republic continued to use the name ''
Deutsches Reich''.
Reich, German
The term ''Reich'' was part of the German names for Germany for much of its history. The German name for the "
Holy Roman Empire Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" (
9th century–
1806) is ''Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation.'' In
Middle High German, ''der rîche'' was a title for the Emperor. However, it should be noted that Latin, not German, was the formal legal language of the mediaeval Empire, so English-speaking historians are more likely to use Latin ''imperium'' than German ''Reich'' as a term for this period of German history.
The unified Germany which arose under Chancellor
Otto von Bismarck in
1871 was called in German the ''Deutsches Reich''. This remained the official name of Germany until
1945, although these years saw three very different political systems more commonly referred to in English as the
German Empire (
1871–
1918, as this term is a direct translation of ''Deutsches Reich'' it can be ambiguous), the
Weimar Republic (
1919–
1933; the term is a postwar coinage not used at the time), and
Nazi Germany (the Third Reich) (
1933–
1945).
The
Nazism Nazis sought to legitimise their power historiographically by portraying their rule as a continuation of a Germanic past. They coined the term ''Das Dritte Reich'' ("The Third Empire" – usually rendered in English in the half-translation "The Third Reich"), counting the Holy Roman Empire as the first and the 1871-1918 monarchy as the second. They also used the
political slogan ''Ein
Volk, ein Reich, ein
Führer'' ("One people, one ''Reich'', one leader"). Although the term "Third Reich" is in common use, the terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich" for the earlier periods are seldom found outside Nazi propaganda. To adopt them as some commentators did in the post-war years is generally frowned upon as accepting Nazi historiography.
A number of previously neutral words used by the Nazis have later taken on negative connotations in German (e.g. ''Führer'' or ''Heil''); while in many contexts ''Reich'' is not one of them (''reich'', rich; ''Frankreich'', France), it can imply German
imperialism or strong
nationalism if it is used to describe a political entity. ''Reich'' has thus not been used in official terminology since 1945, though it is still found in the name of the
Reichstag (building) Reichstag building, which since
1999 has housed the German federal
parliament, the
Bundestag. The decision not to rename the Reichstag building was taken only after long debate in the Bundestag; even then, it is described officially as ''Reichstag - Sitz des Bundestages'' (Reichstag, seat of the Bundestag).
During the
Cold War, the
East Germany East German railway incongruously continued to use the name ''
Deutsche Reichsbahn of the GDR Deutsche Reichsbahn'' (German Imperial Railways), which had been the name of the national railway during the era of the Weimar Republic and Third Reich. This is because the Reichsbahn was specifically mentioned in several postwar treaties and directives regarding the right to operate the railways of
West Berlin; had the East German government changed the Reichsbahn name, it would likely have lost this right.
Etymology and cognates
''Reich'' has an interesting
etymology: it comes from a
Germanic languages Germanic word for "king", which was borrowed from
Celtic languages Celtic. (See Calvert Watkins, ''American Heritage dictionary of Indo-European Roots'', p.70.) It has
cognates in many other languages, all ultimately descended from the
Proto-Indo-European language 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:
Celtic group
Proto-Celtic language Proto-Celtic ''*rīg-'', "king", from the lengthened e-grade (see:
Indo-European ablaut). Borrowed into Germanic as ''*rīks-''. Hence:
*Various Celtic words for "king", reflected also in such place-names as
Portree, "the king's port".
*
Old High German: ''richi'';
German language Modern German ''Reich'' (all senses); ''Reichtum'' "riches"; but '''not''' the unrelated verb ''reichen'', "to reach", or its derivative ''Bereich'', "subject area, sphere".
*
Old English language Old English: ''rīce'';
English language Modern English: ''bishopric''; ''rich''.
*
Dutch language Dutch: ''rijk''
*
Danish language Danish: ''rige''
*
Swedish language Swedish: ''
rike''; ''Sverige'', "Sweden".
*
Old Norse: ''rÃki'' (as in ''
GarðarÃki'').
*
French language 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:
*
Old High German: ''rihte'';
German language Modern German ''Recht'', "justice"; ''rechts'', "right"; ''richtig'', "correct"; ''Richter'', "judge"; ''Gericht'', "court".
*
Old English language Old English: ''riht'';
English language 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:
*
French language French: ''roi'' "king", ''droit'' "law, right" and many others.
*
German language German: ''regieren'', ''Regierung'', ''Regel''
*
English language English (straight from Latin): ''regent''; ''regal''; ''regulate''; ''rector''; ''rectangle''; ''erect''; (borrowed via French): ''royal'', ''reign''; ''viceroy''; ''realm''; ''ruler'' (both senses) and countless others.
Sanskrit
The Sanskrit word, from a lengthened-grade suffixed form ''*rÄ“g-en-'', is ''rÄ?jÄ?'', "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'').
Others
*
Old Prussian language Old Prussian: ''reiks''
*
Lithuanian language Lithuanian: ''reichas''
*
Polish language Polish: ''rzesza''
*
Czech language Czech: ''Å™ÃÅ¡e''
References
-
The Reich as Task
Category:German loanwords
de:Reich
fr:Reich
nl:Rijk (staat)
pl:Reich
tr:Reich
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