An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/öde

by Friedrich Kluge

öde, adj., ‘deserted, waste,’ from MidHG. œde, adj., ‘uncultivated, uninhabited, empty, foolish, poor, infirm,’ OHG. ôdi, ‘desolate, empty’; corresponding to Goth. auþs, ‘desolate, solitary, unfertile,’ OIc. auðr. In some of the languages of the Teut. group there occurs an adj. similar in sound, but apparently of a different etymology, with the meaning ‘easy.’ Comp. OSax. oði, OHG. ôdi, AS. ŷþe, eáþe, OIc. auð- (in compounds), ‘easy.’ The prim. meanings of both classes are uncertain.