Reich en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Borrowed from German Reich (“empire, realm”). Doublet of Raj.
Meanings
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A German empire, kingdom or nation; its territory or government.
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.
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:
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(in particular) The Third Reich; Nazi Germany.
Obviously, Schmitt envisaged Nazi Germany as the Reich at the heart of the European great space, which he sought to shield from Anglo-American interference.
2026 January 16, Brendan Simms, “Has a Nazi theorist’s vision of a world divided into ‘great spaces’ found a new advocate in Trump?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Jan 2026:
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(derogatory) Any empire, especially one that is imperialist, tyrannical, and/or racist.
The Human Reich over nature is inherently flawed, catastrophically overextended, and soon to fall on its own sword.
2021, Steven Best, “Failed species”, in Romanian Journal of Artistic Creativity, volume 9, number 2:The Human Reich is a fundamentally flawed bit of imagination that can never be realized, as we critically depend on an intact ecology.
2023 October 24, Thomas W. Murphy, “Our Ugly Magnificence”, in Do the Math (blog), archived from the original on 28 Feb 2024: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, Owen Joseph Christoffer Norem, Timeless Lithuania, page 280: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.
2017, Madhavan K. Palat, India and the World in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: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 […]
1936, The American Mercury, volumes 38-39, page 367:[…] we are presenting our analysis of the place and significance of the remote war technology within the American Reich.
2015, Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, page 226: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.
2000, Keith Grint, The Arts of Leadership, page 161: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 […]
1943, Francis A. Ridley, Towards the British Revolution, page 15:
Deriveds
Reichism · reichtard · copyreich · reich-wing · Reichian
Relateds
Holy Roman Empire · Turd Reich · Fourth Reich · Third Reich · First Reich · Weimar Republic · Second Reich
Translations (64)
hu birodalom (a German empire or nation) · ko 라이히 (a German empire or nation) · sk ríša (a German empire or nation) · he רייך (a German empire or nation) · uz reyx (a German empire or nation) · be рэйх (a German empire or nation) · is ríki (a German empire or nation) · ru райх (a German empire or nation) · sq rajhu (a German empire or nation) · da rige (a German empire or nation) · ja ライヒ (a German empire or nation) · yi רײַך (a German empire or nation) · ru рейх (a German empire or nation) · sq rajh (a German empire or nation) · sh Imperija (a German empire or nation) · nb rike (a German empire or nation) · ar رَايْش (a German empire or nation) · sl rajh (a German empire or nation) · ur ریخ (a German empire or nation) · bg райх (a German empire or nation) · sh Рајх (a German empire or nation) · uk рейх (a German empire or nation) · mk Рајх (a German empire or nation) · hi राइख़ (a German empire or nation) · lt reichas (a German empire or nation) · fi valtakunta (a German empire or nation) · pl Rzesza (a German empire or nation) · fa رایش (a German empire or nation) · hy ռայխ (a German empire or nation) · nl Rijk (a German empire or nation) · az reyx (a German empire or nation) · ar رَايْخ (a German empire or nation) · tr Reich (a German empire or nation) · uk райх (a German empire or nation) · ro Reich (a German empire or nation) · th ไรช์ (a German empire or nation) · pt Reich (a German empire or nation) · ar إِمْبِرَاطُورِيَّة (a German empire or nation) · sv Rike (a German empire or nation) · el ράιχ (a German empire or nation) · lv reihs (a German empire or nation) · fr Reich (a German empire or nation) · ky рейх (a German empire or nation) · ka რაიხი (a German empire or nation) · cs říše (a German empire or nation) · sv Riket (a German empire or nation) · tr Rayh (a German empire or nation) · ru импе́рия (a German empire or nation) · kk рейх (a German empire or nation) · nl rijk (a German empire or nation) · tg рейх (a German empire or nation) · ru рейх (a German empire or nation) · fr empire (a German empire or nation) · sh Империја (a German empire or nation) · sh Царство (a German empire or nation) · sh Rajh (a German empire or nation) · ko 제국 (a German empire or nation) · de Reich (a German empire or nation) · vi đế chế (a German empire or nation) · el κράτος (a German empire or nation) · sh Carstvo (a German empire or nation) · cmn 帝國 /帝国 (a German empire or nation) · ja 帝国 (a German empire or nation) · it il Reich (a German empire or nation)