𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃

Forms

𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (reiks), a masculine noun, a consonant stem.^[1][2][3] The recorded forms are the nominative singular and plural reiks, the genitive singular 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌹𐍃 (reikis, Matthew 9:23), the dative singular 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺 (reik, Ephesians 2:2), the genitive plural 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌴 (reike) and the dative plural 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌼 (reikam, John 12:42).^[4][2] The nominative plural reiks and the dative singular reik are consonant-stem forms, while the genitive singular reikis and the dative plural reikam are inflected like a-stems.^[5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *rīks (“king, ruler”),^[7][8] which the etymological dictionaries take as an early loan from Celtic: Proto-Celtic *rīxs, the word behind Old Irish rí (“king”) in Old Irish and behind Gaulish personal names such as Dumnorix.^{[7][9][10][11][12]} The Celtic word continues Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs (“ruler”), as do Latin rēx (“king”) and the Sanskrit word for "king".^[7][11][10] The argument is the vowel: Feist notes that a word inherited directly from the Indo-European form would have a different vowel in Germanic, and dates the borrowing before the Germanic sound shift, when the Germanic peoples were under Celtic cultural influence and partly under Celtic rule.^[9] Casaretto likewise takes the ī as a sign of Celtic mediation.^[13] Brugmann's alternative, a root of a different shape, is rejected by Feist and Uhlenbeck.^[9][14] Lehmann cites Arbois de Jubainville and Evans for the borrowed status of this word as of 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌹 (reiki, “realm”) and 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌱𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (andbahts, “servant”), and Ross and Thomson on its origin as a root noun.^[10] The adjective that goes with it survives as Old Norse ríkr (“mighty”) and, with a further suffix, as Old English rīce, Old Frisian rīke, Old Saxon rīki and Old High German rīhhi, "mighty, noble".^[9][10][11] Old Prussian borrowed the stem from Germanic as Old Prussian rikijs (“lord”).^[9][10]

Attestation

Köbler counts 14 records, in Matthew, John, Luke, Romans, Ephesians and the Skeireins; the Wulfila project counts 16 tokens, four of them ambiguous.^[2][15] The Gospel records are in manuscript CA, Romans 13:3 in A, Ephesians 2:2 in A and B, and the Skeireins passages, some quoting John 7:48, in E.^[2] In canonical order the first is Matthew 9:18.^[15][16] In all ten of PROIEL's records it renders Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn, “ruler”).^[16] Matthew 9:18 reads 𐌸𐌰𐍂𐌿𐌷 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 𐌵𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 𐌹𐌽𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍄 𐌹𐌽𐌰 (þaruh reiks ains qimands inwait ina), "then a ruler came and worshipped him".^[17]

Meanings

1. a ruler, lord, prince (for ἄρχων)^[2][18][7]
2. in the plural, the authorities^[18][1]

Word family

• 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌽𐍉𐌽 (reikinōn, “to rule”)

Borrowings into other languages

• Galician: rico, through Old Galician-Portuguese, probably from the sense "mighty, powerful"^[19]
• Mirandese: rico, ultimately from the same word^[19]

Related words

• 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍃 (reikeis, “mighty”)
• 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌹 (reiki, “realm, rule”)

Usage notes

The adjective "mighty, noble" is recorded only in three forms, the superlative 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌹𐌽 (reikistin, John 18:22 and Mark 3:22) and the genitive plural 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌴 (reikjane, Nehemiah 6:17), so its nominative is not attested.^[20] Köbler enters it as reikeis with reiks as an alternative, and Feist writes "reiks (or reikeis)", pointing to the name Friþareikeis in the calendar;^[20][9] Balg, Skeat, Wright and Miller list it as a separate adjective reiks.^{[21][22][23][24]} The phrase sa reikista gudja is "the high priest".^[21][20]

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. reiks
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. reiks 2
3. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 292
4. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 63
5. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 148
6. ^ Streitberg, Wilhelm (1920), Gotisches Elementarbuch, 5th–6th ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 130
7. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃
8. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. s.v. *rīkz
9. ^ a b c d e f Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. reiks
10. ^ a b c d e Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. reiks
11. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 412
12. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. 81
13. ^ Casaretto, Antje (2004), Nominale Wortbildung der gotischen Sprache: Die Derivation der Substantive, Heidelberg: Winter
14. ^ Uhlenbeck, C. C. (1900), Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 2nd ed., Amsterdam: Müller, p. 122
15. ^ a b De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be
16. ^ a b Haug, Dag T. T. et al., PROIEL Treebank: The Gothic Bible (gothic-nt), 2023 release, Pragmatic Resources in Old Indo-European Languages, University of Oslo
17. ^ De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be, p. Mt 9:18
18. ^ a b Regan, Brian T. (1974), Dictionary of the Biblical Gothic Language, Phoenix: Wulfila House, p. 126
19. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. rico
20. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. reikeis 1
21. ^ a b Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 321
22. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1868), A Moeso-Gothic Glossary, with an Introduction, an Outline of Moeso-Gothic Grammar, and a List of Anglo-Saxon and Old and Modern English Words Etymologically Connected with Moeso-Gothic, London: Asher, p. s.v. reiks
23. ^ Wright, Joseph (1910), Grammar of the Gothic Language, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. reiks
24. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press