Reich See Robert Reich for the economist. See Steve Reich for the composer. See Wilhelm Reich for the psychologist. Reich is the German word for "realm" or "empire", cognate with Scandinavian rike and Dutch rijk. It is the word traditionally used for sovereign entities, including Germany. For instance, any country with a King or Queen as head of state, such as Britain, is a Königreich (kingdom). It is still used as a suffix in certain country names, for instance Frankreich (France). The term Reich was part of the official names of Germany over centuries. The German name for "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" (mid 10th century – 1806) is Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation. Later, Deutsches Reich was the official name of Germany from 1871 to 1945, although its three very different political systems are commonly referred to as the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and finally the Third Reich (Nazi Germany) (1933–1945). The Nazis, eager to present their rule as a continuation of a Germanic past, used the term Das Dritte Reich ("The Third Reich"), counting the Holy Roman Empire as the first and the 1871 Empire as the second. They also used the political slogan "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" ("One people, one country, one leader"). A number of words used by the Nazis which earlier were neutral have later taken on a negative connotation in German (e.g. Führer or Heil); the word "Reich" is usually not one of them, although in certain contexts it does carry a connotation of German imperialism and/or strong nationalism - mainstream modern Germans would not refer to their country as the Reich for that reason. The word is still used with the Reichstag building, which again, since 1999, houses the German federal parliament (today called Bundestag), and for the old Reichstag institution. The German name of Austria is Österreich, or "Eastern Reich", and France is called Frankreich. The German version of the Lord's Prayer uses the words Dein Reich komme for "thy kingdom come". Cognates Swedish: Rike Old High German: richi Old English: rice Dutch: rijk English: rich (compare to commonwealth) Indo European: reg Latin: regalis, regere, rex Prussian: reiks Indian: Raj Old Norse: rike (as in Gårdarike). Lithuanian: reichas The word reich (lower case) is also a German adjective and adverb for "rich" or "wealthy" / "richly", "wealthily". See also list of words of disputed pronunciation Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reich