An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Pferch

by Friedrich Kluge

Pferch, masculine, ‘fold, pen,’ from Middle High German pfęrrich, Old High German pfęrrih, pfarrih (hh), masculine, ‘fence, enclosure, especially for sheep’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon pearroc, masculine, ‘enclosure, park,’ Dutch perk, ‘enclosed space.’ If the words with initial p in Low German and initial pf in High German are of foreign origin, the term on which they are based must have been introduced, on account of the correspondence between the Continental German and English words, at a very early date (about the 4th century). “It appears even in the earliest Middle Latin; parcus, parricus (Leg. Rip. and Leg. Angl.), parc (Leg. Bajuv.), in the latter instance as ‘granary,’” and also in early Romance; compare French parc, ‘pen, park’ (see Park), Italian parco. English park is based partly on Romance and partly on the Anglo-Saxon word. The source of all the cognates is incorrectly ascribed to Keltic; compare Gaelic pâirc, Welsh parc, parwg.