An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Recke

by Friedrich Kluge

Recke, masculine, ‘hero, champion, paladin,’ from Middle High German ręcke, masculine, ‘warrior, hero,’ originally, however, ‘knight-errant, adventurer, stranger’; compare Old High German ręccho, earlier wręccho, masculine, Old Saxon wrękkio, masculine, ‘vagrant, outlaw, stranger,’ Anglo-Saxon wręčča, ‘fugitive, exile, unfortunate wretch,’ whence English wretch. These interesting West Teutonic cognates implying Gothic *wrakja are connected with Modern High German rächen, Gothic wrikan, ‘to persecute.’ Modern High German elend has a somewhat similar development.