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Origin and history of reach

reach(v.)

Middle English rēchen, from Old English ræcan, reccan "to reach out, stretch or extend outward, hold forth, extend in continuity or scope," also "to succeed in touching, succeed in striking;" also "to address, speak to," also "to offer, present, give, grant."

This is proposed to be from Proto-West Germanic *raikejanan "stretch out the hand" (source also of Old Frisian reka "to give, pay," Middle Dutch reken, reiken, Old High German reihhen, reichen "give, reach out, get," Dutch reiken, German reichen "to reach, to pass, to hand, to give; to be sufficient"), from Proto-Germanic *raikijanan, which is probably from PIE root *reig- "to stretch, stretch out, be stretched; be stiff."

Sometimes 16c. spelled retch. The meaning "arrive at, succeed in getting to" is attested by early 14c.; that of "succeed in influencing" is from 1660s. Related: Reached; reaching. Shakespeare uses the now-obsolete past tense form raught (Old English ræhte).

As "hand (something to someone), give" by c. 1300. Colloquial reach-me-down (adj.) "ready-made" (of clothes) is recorded from 1862, from notion of being on the rack in a finished state.

reach(n.)

"continuous stretch or course," 1520s, from reach (v.); earliest use is of stretches of water. Meaning "extent of reaching" is from 1540s; that of "act of reaching" is from 1560s; that of "limit or scope of extension" is from 1570s. To be out of (one's) reach "unattainable" is by 1690s.

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?
[Browning, "Andrea del Sarto"]

also from 1520s

Entries linking to reach

far-reaching(adj.)

1808, from far (adv.) + present participle of reach (v.).

outreach(n.)

1870, "act or fact of reaching out," from the verbal phrase reach out "to extend or profer;" see out (adv.) + reach (v.). Now, especially, "an organization's involvement in the community" (by 1967). The verb outreach (c. 1400) tends to be used in literal senses: originally "to hand out to," later "to reach or extend beyond" (1560s); in 17c. it could mean "to cheat, deceive."

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More to explore

overreach
early 14c., overrechen, "to reach or rise above or beyond" (transitive), from over- + reach (v.). Meaning "to extend out over something, to cover" is from c. 1400. Sense of "to reach beyond one's strength, reach or stretch too far" is from 1560s. As a noun, "too great a reach," f
touch
late 13c., "make deliberate physical contact with," from Old French tochier "to touch, hit, knock; mention, deal with" (11c., Modern French toucher), from Vulgar Latin *toccare "to knock, strike" as a bell (source also of Spanish tocar, Italian toccare), perhaps of imitative orig
hit
late Old English hyttan, hittan "come upon, meet with, fall in with, 'hit' upon," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hitta "to light upon, meet with," also "to hit, strike;" Swedish hitta "to find," Danish and Norwegian hitte "to hit, find," from Proto-Germanic *hitjan,
aspire
"strive for, seek eagerly to attain, long to reach," c. 1400, aspiren, from Old French aspirer "aspire to; inspire; breathe...upon, to breathe," also, in transferred senses, "to be favorable to, assist; to climb up to, to endeavor to obtain, to reach...to, to seek to reach; infuse," from ad "to" (see ad-) + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit (n.))....
arrive
c. 1200, "reach land, reach the end of a journey by sea," from Anglo-French ariver, Old French ariver "to come to land" (...
grasp
mid-14c., "to reach, grope, feel around," possibly a metathesis of grapsen, from Old English *græpsan "to touch, feel," from...Middle Dutch grapen "to seize, grasp," Old English grapian "to touch, feel, grope"), from PIE root *ghrebh- (1) "to seize, reach...
apt
This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *ap- (1) "to grasp, take, reach" (source also of Sanskrit apnoti "he reaches,"...Latin apisci "to reach after, attain," Hittite epmi "I seize")....
render
late 14c., rendren, rendre, "repeat, say again, recite; translate," from Old French rendre "give back, present, yield" (10c.) and Medieval Latin rendere, from Vulgar Latin *rendere, a variant of Latin reddere "give back, return, restore," from red- "back" (see re-) + combining fo
attain
c. 1300, "succeed in reaching, come so near as to touch," from ataign-, stem of Old French ataindre "to come up to, reach, attain, endeavor, strive" (11c., Modern French atteindre), from Vulgar Latin *attangere, corresponding to Latin attingere "to touch; arrive at," from ad "to"
motion
late 14c., mocioun, "process of moving; change of place, continuous variation of position;" also "suggestion, proposal or proposition formally made," from Old French mocion "movement, motion; change, alteration" (13c., Modern French motion) and directly from Latin motionem (nomin

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