Reihe German · revision 35320

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=11th century (this form 13th century)|origins=gmw-pro *rīhu}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʁaɪ̯ə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''Reihe''' ''f'' (genitive Reihe, plural Reihen)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older New High German also had ''reige'', which Adelung still records as regional.^(DWB|14, 636) Weak singular forms such as ''in der reihen'' and masculine forms are also found in older texts.^(DWB|14, 636)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|rīhe|t=row, line, narrow passage]], [[inh|goh|*rīha]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*rīhu]].^(Kluge 2011|756)^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993) Beside it, with grammatical change of /h/ and /g/, stand Old High German [[m|goh|rīga|t=line, curve]] and [[gmh|rige|t=line, row, ditch]], the source of [[Riege]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Kluge 2011|756)^(Duden 7 2020) The same word is [[gml|rige]], [[dum|rie]] and [[nl|rij]], and with ablaut [[ang|rǣw|t=row]], the ancestor of [[en|row]].^(Kluge 2011|756)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ The noun probably comes from a strong verb that is recorded only late: [[gmh|rīhen|t=to thread, string]], [[m|gml|rīgen]], [[m|dum|rien]], [[fy|riuwe|t=to string]].^(Kluge 2011|756)^(Pfeifer 1993) Pfeifer takes its first sense to have been “to pierce”, then “to put on a stick or thread after piercing”, which fits the old meaning of [[reihen]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ Its further origin is unclear.^(Kluge 2011|756) If the starting point was “cleft, stroke”, it may belong to [[ine-pro|*reyk-|t=to scratch, tear]], an extension of [[ine-pro|*rey-|t=to scratch, tear, cut]], with [[grc|ἐρείκω|tr=ereíkō|t=to break, tear]], [[lt|riekti|alt=riẽkti|t=to cut (bread)]] and [[cy|rhwygo|t=to tear]], though Pfeifer notes the difficulties of meaning.^(Kluge 2011|756)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) Wahrig adds [[la|rīma|t=crack, fissure]].^(Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch) From Old High German [[m|goh|rīga]] came [[la-med|riga|t=line]] and [[it|riga|t=line, stripe]].^(DWB|14, 636)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Notker (about 1000) uses ''rīga'' for a curved line, and in his explanation of Latin ''linea'' “line” gives the words ''reiz unde zîla unde rîga'', “stroke and row and line”.^(Schützeichel 2012|260)^(Köbler AHD)^(DWB|14, 636) Kluge dates the word to the 11th century and the form ''Reihe'' to the 13th.^(Kluge 2011|756)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle High German ''rīhe'' also meant a narrow passage and a gutter.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) In Early New High German it was a narrow lane between houses, the drain between two houses and so a privy, a line of things or of written characters, and a furrow for sowing.^(FWB)

+

+ The sense moved from a row in space to a sequence in time, and then to a series of books or broadcasts.^(Paul 2002) From the idea of an order in which something happens to one person after another came ''an der Reihe sein'' “to be one's turn”, ''außer der Reihe'' “out of turn” and ''der Reihe nach'' “in turn”.^(Paul 2002) In the older army a ''Reihe'' was a file of men one behind the other, while those standing side by side formed a ''Glied'', hence ''in Reih und Glied''.^(Paul 2002) Campe calls ''Reihenfolge'' a newly formed word, and Pfeifer dates it to about 1800.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) English ''tone-row'' (1936) renders the German term of twelve-note music.^(LWP)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Notker uses ''rīga'' for a line.^(Schützeichel 2012|260)^(Paul 2002)

+ * 11th century – First record of the word.^(Kluge 2011|756)

+ * 13th century – The form ''rīhe'' appears.^(Kluge 2011|756)

+ * c. 1800 – ''Reihenfolge'' “order, sequence” is formed.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 1936 – English ''tone-row'' renders the German musical term.^(LWP)

+ * 1988 – Botho Strauß uses the colloquial ''auf die Reihe bringen'' “to manage”.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|row]] of things or people placed one beside or after another: ''In der dritten Reihe waren noch Plätze frei.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A line of people drawn up in order, especially in sport or the army: ''Die Kinder stellten sich in zwei Reihen auf.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # The order in which something happens to one after another; a person's [[m|en|turn]]: ''Wer ist jetzt an der Reihe?''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002)

+ # A [[m|en|series]], for example of books or broadcasts: ''Der Sender zeigt eine Reihe über alte Handwerksberufe.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' A series: quantities that follow one another according to a rule.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A number of similar people or things: ''Es gibt noch eine Reihe offener Fragen.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # ''(chess)'' A [[m|en|rank]], one of the eight horizontal rows of the board.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Reihenfolge]]

+ * [[reihen]]

+ * [[reihum]]

+ * [[einreihig]]

+ * [[Reihenhaus]]

+ * [[Sitzreihe]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Riege]]

+ * [[en|row]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''In Reih und Glied'' “in rank and file” means in strict order.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002) ''Etwas auf die Reihe kriegen'' or ''bringen'' is colloquial for “to manage, sort something out”, and ''bunte Reihe machen'' is to sit so that men and women alternate.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Paul 2002) Southern German ''wieder in der Reihe sein'' means to be well or in order again.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}