Where does “reach” come from?
Reach comes from Middle English rechen, from Old English hrǣċan, from Proto-Germanic rakjaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots reǵ- and ker- with the suffix -yeti.
reach (English): To extend, stretch, or thrust out; To give to...
Definitions
- To extend, stretch, or thrust out; To give to...
Ancestry of “reach”, step by step
reach traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English rechen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | rechen | — |
| 2 | Old English | rǣċan | to reach |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | rakjaną | to stretch, to straighten |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃roǵéyeti | to straighten, to make straight, to cause to be... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |