reich
n. countablen. a word for a kingdom or empire, most often used to talk about the German state during the Nazi period.
n. the German state or empire, specifically referring to the historical periods of the Holy Roman Empire, the German Empire, or the Nazi regime.
Historians study the rise and fall of the third reich.
Borrowed from German Reich (“empire, realm”). Doublet of Raj.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Usage
Usually capitalized when referring to a specific historical period; often preceded by an ordinal number like 'third'.
Last updated May 6, 2026