An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Geiz

by Friedrich Kluge

Geiz, masculine, ‘avarice,’ allied to geizen, Middle High German gîtsen (gîzen), beside which Middle High German gîten, ‘to be greedy, covetous, or avaricious’ occurs; compare Anglo-Saxon gîtsian, ‘to be covetous.’ The term for Geiz in Middle High German and Old High German was gît, ‘greediness, covetousness, avarice,’ for geizig, Middle High German gîtec, Old High German gîtag, ‘greedy, covetous, avaricious’; respecting the derivation of Geiz from geizen, see Ärger, handeln. Akin to Gothic gaidw, neuter, ‘want.’ With the Teutonic root gaid, gī̆d (Aryan ghaidh), are connected Lithuanian geidżiù (geísti), ‘to desire,’ Old Slovenian židą, žĭdati, ‘to expect.’