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Glite Dictionary
First Reich

First Reich

1 9.9
A name for the Holy Roman Empire as the first of three German empires
  • noun
translation icon : Primer Reich
  • From 800 to 1806, the First Reich maintained its influence across Europe.

Examples

  • Historians commonly discuss the First Reich when studying the development of modern Germany.

  • The Holy Roman Empire is often referred to as the First Reich in German history.

  • 117: Yeah, the terms "First Reich," "Second Reich," and "Third Reich" were invented by proto-Nazis in the 1920s.

    Blog text (31)

Synonyms

Holy Roman Empire
vsFirst Reich
2 8.4

A group of many states in central Europe that an emperor ruled from 962 to 1806

refers to that empire as the first of three German empires

Surface Forms

First Reich singular
First Reichs plural

Morphology

first + Reich

The components 'first' (preceding all others) and 'Reich' (a German realm/empire) combine to signal ‘the earliest German empire,’ so a learner who knows both words can infer the general idea. However, the term’s specific historical reference (the Holy Roman Empire) and the specialized, borrowed use of Reich in English require background knowledge, so the exact referent is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

First Reich comes from German where Reich means 'empire', and putting First before it makes a clear image of the very first empire in a line of three. That's why First Reich is used to name the old Holy Roman Empire, seen as the 'first' of three German empires.