Rache

See also: rache, Râché, and räche

German

Etymology

From Middle High German rāche, from Old High German rāhha, from Proto-West Germanic *wrāku, from Proto-Germanic *wrēkō (“persecution, revenge”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreg- (“to drive”).

Cognate with archaic English wreak (“revenge”). The irregular short vowel in modern German is due to the inherited short vowel in the verb rächen, reinforced by a spelling pronunciation among Low German speakers (who based on their Middle Low German wrāke could not know whether the High German vowel should be long or short; compare the reverse development in Lache).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈraxə/, [ˈʁäχə]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aχə
• Hyphenation: Ra‧che

Noun

Rache f (genitive Rache, no plural)

1. revenge; vengeance

Declension

Declension of Rache [sg-only, feminine]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Rache
genitive	einer	der	Rache
dative	einer	der	Rache
accusative	eine	die	Rache

Derived terms

• rachbar
• Blutrache
• Rachedurst
• Racheengel
• Rachegedanke
• Rachegefühl
• Rachegott
• Rachegöttin

Related terms

• rächen
• Rächer

Further reading

• “Rache” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Rache” in Duden online