worlderiche

Middle English

Alternative forms

• weorlde-riche, weorld-riche, worlde-riche, worlde riche, worldesriche, world-riche, worle-riche, woruld-riche
• weorelldriche (Ormulum)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English weoruldrīċe; equivalent to world +‎ -riche. The medial vowel (perhaps reflecting Old English *weorulderīċe) is either epenthetic or (more likely) reflects Old English oblique weorolde.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwurld(ə)ˌriːt͡ʃ(ə)/, /ˈwɛrld(ə)ˌriːt͡ʃ(ə)/, /-ˌriːk(ə)/
• (reduced) IPA^(key): /ˈwurld(ə)rit͡ʃ(ə)/, /ˈwɛrld(ə)rit͡ʃ(ə)/, /-rik(ə)/

Noun

worlderiche (chiefly Early Middle English)

1. The world; the Earth.
2. (rare) A polity or realm.
3. (rare) Material existence.

References

• “world-rīche, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.