Etymology

-ric

Today it means: A termination denoting jurisdiction, or a district over which government is exercised. Full definition →

Northern Middle English -rike ← Old English -rīċe ← Proto-Germanic *rīkiją
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*rīkiją“realm, power”
  2. Old English · inherited from-rīċe“-ric”
  3. Northern Middle English · inherited from-rike
  4. English today-ric

From Northern Middle English -rike (Southern -riche), from Old English -rīċe (“-ric”), from rīċe (“realm, domain, jurisdiction”), from Proto-Germanic *rīkiją (“realm, power”). Cognate with Dutch -rijk, German -reich.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.