reach English · revision 3109

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *raikijaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /riːtʃ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|rechen]],^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline) [[inh|ang|rǣċan|t=to reach out, stretch out, hold forth; to succeed in touching; to offer, give]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*raikijaną]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Frisian rēka, Middle Low German rēken, Dutch reiken and Old High German and German reichen.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) Old Norse reik “parting of the hair” is related.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Outside Germanic, Barnhart compares Old Irish ríag “torture” and Lithuanian ráižytis “to stretch oneself”, from [[ine-pro|*reyǵ-|alt=*reiĝ-]],^(Barnhart 1988) which Etymonline glosses “to stretch, be stiff”.^(Etymonline) The Middle English past tense was raught (Old English rǣhte), still used by Shakespeare, until reached appeared about 1400.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) The noun is from the verb.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English rǣcan, “to extend, hold forth”, is found about 725 in ''Beowulf'';^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first example of stretching out the hand is from about 897.^(OED 1989) Middle English rechen is from probably before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To arrive at, succeed in getting to” is attested by the early 14th century,^(Etymonline) and “to hand to someone, give” by about 1300.^(Etymonline) “To succeed in influencing” is from the 1660s.^(Etymonline) The noun is first a stretch of water: a bay from 1526^(Barnhart 1988) and a straight part of a river between bends from 1536.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The power of comprehension is a reach from 1542,^(Barnhart 1988) the distance one can reach from before 1548,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) an act of reaching from 1570,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and the limit or scope of extension from the 1570s.^(Etymonline) ''Out of one's reach'' is by the 1690s,^(Etymonline) and Browning wrote “a man's reach should exceed his grasp”.^(Etymonline) ''Reach-me-down'', “ready-made” of clothes, is from 1862.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English rǣcan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – to hand to someone.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – to arrive at.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1526 – noun, a bay.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1536 – a stretch of river.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1548 – the distance one can reach.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1570 – an act of reaching.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660s – to influence.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1862 – ''reach-me-down''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To stretch out a hand or arm in order to touch or [[grasp]] something.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To [[arrive]] at; to get as far as.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To extend as far as: ''the rope won't reach''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To succeed in contacting or communicating with.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To succeed in influencing or affecting.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To hand to someone.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The distance or extent that someone or something can reach.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The range of someone's power, influence or understanding.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # An act of reaching.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A continuous stretch of water, especially a straight part of a [[river]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reachable]]

+ * [[reacher]]

+ * [[reachability]]

+ * [[unreached]]

+ * [[unreachable]]

+ * [[far-reaching]]

+ * [[forereach]]

+ * [[outreach]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[retch]]

+ * [[overreach]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate ''reach'', “to spit, clear the throat, retch”, from Old English hrǣcan, is obsolete except in dialect;^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986) it is a variant of [[retch]].^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}