An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Ahle

by Friedrich Kluge

Ahle, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German âle, Old High German âla, feminine, ‘cobbler’s awl.’ To this is allied the equivalent Old High German derivative ălunsa, ălansa, feminine, (with the same suffix as Sense); properly alesna (Swiss alesne, alsne), whence the Romance cognates — Spanish alesna, Italian lesina, French alêne, ‘awl,’ are borrowed; compare Dutch els, ‘awl’ (from *alisna), Anglo-Saxon œ̂l (in the Orkneys alison), Old Icelandic alr, ‘awl.’ The consonance with Sanscrit ãrâ, feminine, ‘punch, awl,’ points to an Old Aryan word; there existed also a widely ramified Aryan root to designate articles of leather. See Saum and Säule.