Editing Reich (section)

==Etymology==
{{Wiktionary|Reich|Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/rīks}}

The term is derived from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] word which generally means "{{wikt-lang|en|realm|italic=no}}", but in German, it is typically used to designate a [[Monarchy|kingdom]] or an empire, especially the [[Roman Empire]].<ref name=HM>{{cite magazine|magazine=Harper's New Monthly Magazine|volume=63 |title=The German Empire |last=Tuttle |first=Herbert |page=593 |number=376 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015056091245?urlappend=%3Bseq=605%3Bownerid=13510798885173288-619 |hdl-access=free |date=September 1881 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_harpers-magazine_1881-09_63_376/page/593/mode/1up}}</ref> The terms {{lang|de|[[Kaisertum]]}} ({{IPA|de|ˈkaɪzɐˌtuːm|lang|De-Kaisertum.ogg}}, {{gloss|Imperium}}) and {{lang|de|Kaiserreich}} ({{gloss|Imperial realm}}) are used in German to more specifically define an empire ruled by an emperor.<ref name=HM/>

{{lang|de|Reich}} is comparable in meaning and development (as well as descending from the same [[Proto-Indo-European]] root) to the English word "realm" (via French {{wikt-lang|fr|reaume}} {{gloss|kingdom}} from Latin {{wikt-lang|la|regalis}} {{gloss|royal}}).

The German noun ''Reich'' is derived from {{langx|goh|rīhhi}}, which together with its cognates in {{langx|ang|rīce}}, {{langx|non|ríki}}, and {{langx|got|reiki}} is derived from a [[Common Germanic]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|rīkijan}}.
The English noun survives only in the compounds ''[[:wikt:bishopric|bishopric]]'' and ''[[:wikt:archbishopric|archbishopric]]''.

The German adjective {{lang|de|[[:wikt:reich|reich]]}}, on the other hand, has an exact cognate in English [[:wikt:rich|rich]]. Both the noun ({{lang|gem-x-proto|rīkijan}}) and the adjective ({{lang|gem-x-proto|rīkijaz}}) are derivations based on  the [[Common Germanic]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|rīks}} "ruler, [[Germanic king|king]]", reflected in Gothic as {{lang|got|[[reiks]]}}, glossing {{lang|grc|ἄρχων}} "leader, ruler, chieftain".

It is probable that the Germanic word was not inherited from pre-Proto-Germanic, but rather loaned from [[Continental Celtic|Celtic]] (i.e. [[Gaulish]] ''rīx'', [[Modern Welsh|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|rhi}}, both meaning 'king') at an [[Roman Iron Age|early time]].<ref>Grimm, ''[[Deutsches Wörterbuch]]'', original suggestion from [[Karl Brugmann]] ''grundrisz der vergl. gramm''. 1, 65. Also mentioned in e.g. Calvert Watkins, ''American Heritage dictionary of Indo-European Roots'', p.&nbsp;70.</ref>

The word has many cognates outside of Germanic and Celtic, notably {{langx|la|rex}} and {{langx|sa|राज|raj|rule}}. It is ultimately from [[Proto-Indo-European]] *''{{PIE|reg-}}'', {{lit|to straighten out or rule}}.