reichen German · revision 35333

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 8th century, Old High German glosses|origins=gmw-pro *raikijan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈʁaɪ̯çn̩/, /ˈʁaɪ̯çən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''reichen''' (third-person singular present reicht, past tense reichte, past participle gereicht, auxiliary haben)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|reichen]], [[inh|goh|reihhen|t=to extend, reach]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*raikijan|t=to reach]].^(Kluge 2011|755)^(Wiktionary) A by-form [[goh|reihhōn|t=to offer]] is recorded beside it.^(Kluge 2011|755)^(Pfeifer 1993) The same verb is [[gml|rēken]], [[dum|reiken]], [[ofs|rēka]] and [[ang|rǣcan]], continued in [[nl|reiken]] and [[en|reach]];^(Kluge 2011|755)^(Pfeifer 1993) no corresponding verb is found in Gothic, Old Norse or Old Saxon.^(DWB|14, 584)

+

+ Pfeifer and Duden connect it with [[lt|réižti|t=to stretch, straighten (the limbs)]] and [[sga|riag|t=torture]], originally the stretching of the limbs, and Pfeifer sets up a root [[ine-pro|*rēiǵ-|t=to stretch out, reach with the outstretched hand]], close in sound and sense to the root of [[recht]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020) Wiktionary derives the verb from a causative of [[ine-pro|*Hreyǵ-|t=to stretch out, reach]].^(Wiktionary) Kluge stresses that, with no closely related forms, the shape and sounds of the family are hard to judge: it might start from [[ine-pro|*reǵ-|t=to direct, guide]], which also has the senses “stretch” and “reach”, or from a variant of it, and he advises caution, since the answer bears on whether [[Reich]] and [[reich]] are borrowings.^(Kluge 2011|755) Paul thinks the verb may be related to them by ablaut.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''reihhen'' is first recorded in glosses of the last quarter of the 8th century, among them a Bavarian manuscript of about 800, and then in Notker, with the senses “to extend far, refer to, aim at, fetch, reach for”.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|7, 333)^(Schützeichel 2012|257) In Old High German the verb is only intransitive.^(DWB|14, 584)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Duden describes the first sense as “to extend”, from which came “to reach out, to manage” and “to suffice”, and in transitive use “to stretch out, hold out, offer, give”.^(Duden 7 2020) Middle High German ''reichen'' also meant to reach, obtain, fetch and hand over.^(Lexer 1872|2, 384)^(Köbler MHD) Paul traces how the spatial sense was carried over to time and to the mind, and how ''reichen an'' came to mean “to equal”; asking whether something reaches far enough gave the general sense “to be enough”, for which ''ausreichen'' and ''hinreichen'' are now often preferred.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The phrase ''jemandem nicht das Wasser reichen können'' “to be no match for someone” dates from the 16th century and probably goes back to the custom of a servant handing guests water to wash their hands before and after a meal.^(Pfeifer 1993) The noun [[Bereich]] (late 18th century) was formed from the obsolete verb ''bereichen'' “to reach, extend over”, and the prefixed verbs ''erreichen'' and ''gereichen'' go back to Old High German.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Duden 7 2020)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 8th century – Old High German ''reihhen'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|7, 333)

+ * c. 800 – The prefixed verb ''gireihhen'' “to extend, reach” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 10th century – ''reihhōn'' “to offer, refer to” is recorded.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * c. 1000 – Notker uses ''reihhen'' for “to extend”.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Schützeichel 2012|257)

+ * 16th century – First record of ''jemandem nicht das Wasser reichen können''.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Second half of the 17th century – ''ausreichen'' and ''einreichen'' appear.^(Duden 7 2020)

+ * Late 18th century – The noun ''Bereich'' appears.^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(often formal)'' To [[m|en|hand]] or pass something to someone, to hold it out for them to take: ''Sie reichte ihm die Zeitung über den Tisch.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|serve]] food or drink to guests: ''Zum Fisch reicht man Salzkartoffeln.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To be [[m|en|enough]], to [[m|en|suffice]] for a purpose or a time: ''Der Vorrat reicht noch bis Freitag.'' ''Es reicht mir'' (colloquial) means “I have had enough”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(with mit)'' To manage with a supply until a certain time: ''Mit dem Benzin reichen wir noch bis zur Grenze.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)

+ # To [[m|en|extend]] or [[m|en|reach]] as far as a certain point: ''Der Wald reicht bis an die Straße.''^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[erreichen]]

+ * [[ausreichen]]

+ * [[einreichen]]

+ * [[überreichen]]

+ * [[zurückreichen]]

+ * [[gereichen]]

+ * [[Bereich]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Reich]]

+ * [[recht]]

+ * [[en|reach]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Early New High German also had a verb ''reichen'' “to make rich, to become rich”, formed from the adjective ''reich''; it was already obsolete by the 18th century, surviving only in Swiss dialect.^(DWB|14, 591)^(FWB)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}