Noun

Reich

1. The territory of a German empire, or its government

Related terms

• First Reich
• Second Reich
• Third Reich

Reich (pronounced /ˈraɪk/; German: [ˈʁaɪç] ( listen)) is a German loanword cognate with the English reign, but used most often to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is "(imperial,) sovereign state." It is also cognate with the Latin word regnum (kingdom) and the Scandinavian rike/rige, Dutch: rijk, Sanskrit: raj, English: -ric; as found in bishopric. 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" (Königtum), and in the country names Frankreich (France, lit. "the Realm of the Franks"), Österreich (Austria, the "Eastern Realm"), Sverige (Sweden, the "Realm of the Swedes") and in England as Surrey - Suthrige, 'southern realm'. The German version of the Lord's Prayer uses the words Dein Reich komme for "ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου" (usually translated as "thy kingdom come" in English), and the Lord's Prayer in Scandinavian also uses the cognate word; so it is in Old English - 'Tobecyme thin rice'.

Like its Latin counterpart, imperium, Reich does not necessarily connote a monarchy; the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany continued to use the name Deutsches Reich while being republican in structure.

Used adjectivally, reich is the German word for "rich".