An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Affe
Affe, m., ‘ape, monkey,’ from the equiv. MidHG. affe, OHG. affo, m.; also in OHG. the feminine forms affa, affin, affinna, ‘female ape.’ A word common to the Teut. group, unrecorded by chance in Goth. alone, in which, by inference from OIc. ape, AS. apa, E. ape (whence Ir. and Gael. apa), Du. aap, the form must have been *apa. Facts and not linguistic reasons lead to the conclusion that apan- is a primitive loanword with which ORuss. opica, OBoh. opice, is connected, and through commercial intercourse reached the Teutons by some unknown route. On account of the assonance it is very often referred, without sufficient reason, to Sans. kapi (Gr. κῆπος), ‘ape’; at all events, it is certain that no word for Affe common to the Aryan, or even to the West Aryan, group does exist.