An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Ehre

by Friedrich Kluge

Ehre, feminine, ‘honour,’ from Middle High German êre, Old High German êra, feminine, ‘honour, fame, sense of honour’; corresponds to Old Saxon êra, feminine, ‘honour, protection, pardon, gift,’ Anglo-Saxon âr, feminine, ‘honour, help, pardon’ (ârian, ‘to spare, pardon’), Old Icelandic eir, feminine, ‘pardon, gentleness.’ Gothic *aiza is by chance not recorded; it is probably allied to Gothic ais-tan, ‘to shun, respect,’ which is undoubtedly primitively akin to Latin aes-tumare, ‘to acknowledge, value.’ It is probably connected with the Sanscrit root iš, ‘to desire, seek to obtain.’