The word Gau is an old term for a region of the German Reich. The Frankish Realm and the Holy Roman Empire were subdivided into Gaue (the plural form of Gau), which corresponds roughly with the English word "shire". It is still in use today for some regions in Belgium and Switzerland, and in the modern German states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (see: Gau Legacy).