An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Ahne

by Friedrich Kluge

Ahne, feminine, ‘boon’ (of flax or hemp), from Middle High German âne, older agene, feminine, ‘chaff'; Old High German agana, feminine, ‘chaff;’ also Anglo-Saxon *agon, œgne, Middle English awene, English awns, Gothic ahana, Old Icelandic ǫgn, ‘chaff.’ In these cognates two really different roots seem to have been blended in various ways; the meaning ‘chaff' would be applicable to the one, just as the exact Greek corresponding ἄχνη, ‘chaff, foam’ (of the sea), likewise points to Aryan aghnâ (compare besides Greek ἄχυρον, ‘chaff’). The other is perhaps literally ‘prickle, awn,’ and belongs to the root ah (Aryan ak); see Ähre.