Bereich German · revision 35090

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=back-formation|attested=late 18th century|origins=gmw-pro *raikjan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /bəˈʁaɪ̯ç/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Bereich''' ''m'' (genitive Bereiches or Bereichs, plural Bereiche)^(Wiktionary)

+ At first the word was also neuter, as in Goethe's ''Faust II'' (line 6195), and ''das Bereich'' is still recorded as rare.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a back-formation, [[der|gmh|bereichen|t=to reach as far as, extend over]], made in the 18th century.^(Kluge 2011|110)^(Pfeifer 1993) That verb, which matches [[dum|bereiken]], is formed with [[m|gmh|be-]] from [[m|gmh|reichen|t=to reach, extend]], the ancestor of [[reichen]].^(Kluge 2011|110)^(Köbler MHD)^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer calls the noun an abstract formed from the verb, which itself died out in the 18th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) The simple verb goes back to [[gmw-pro|*raikjan]], like [[en|reach]], and Pfeifer derives it from a root [[ine-pro|*rēig̑-|t=to stretch out, reach out with the hand]].^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ According to Kluge the new word took over the general meaning of the older [[Reich]], which narrowed to “dominion, realm”, and the contact between them led to confusion of gender, and of pronunciation in dialects that still keep the vowels of Middle High German apart.^(Kluge 2011|110) Pfeifer explains the wavering between masculine and neuter in the same way.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In legal language ''Bereich'' meant a levy or due as early as the 16th century, while the general sense “area within certain limits” appears at the end of the 18th century.^(Pfeifer 1993) Paul calls it a young word, found in Heynatz's ''Antibarbarus'' and in Goethe from 1815.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word soon became common and replaced ''Reich'' in the sense “domain, sphere”.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) The Grimms' dictionary quotes Goethe for the range of guns: during the siege of Mainz he saw a farmer at work ''im bereich der kanonen'' “within range of the cannons”.^(DWB|1, 1495) The phrase ''im Bereich des Möglichen'' is recorded by Sanders in the 19th century.^(Paul 2002) At the start of the 19th century the noun was borrowed into Dutch as ''bereik''.^(Paul 2002) In German wine law it names a group of vineyard sites whose wines are alike in character.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 16th century – In legal language ''Bereich'' means a levy.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – The verb ''bereichen'' falls out of use.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Late 18th century – ''Bereich'' “area, sphere” appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|110)

+ * 1815 – Goethe begins to use the word.^(Paul 2002)

+ * Early 19th century – Dutch borrows it as ''bereik''.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|area]] or zone with certain limits: ''Im Bereich des Bahnhofs wird gebaut.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|field]], [[m|en|sector]] or sphere of activity or knowledge: ''Sie arbeitet im Bereich der Medizintechnik.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(wine)'' A wine [[m|en|region]] made up of several sites.^(Wiktionary)^(Wiktionary DE)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' An algebraic structure resembling the integers.^(Wiktionary DE)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reichen]]

+ * [[erreichen]]

+ * [[Reich]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Im Bereich des Möglichen liegen'' means “to be quite possible”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}