An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Rogen

by Friedrich Kluge

Rogen, masculine, ‘roe, spawn,’ from the equivalent Middle High German rogen, Old High German rogan, masculine, for an earlier *hrogan, mm.; also Middle High German roge, Old High German rogo, masculine; corresponding to the equivalent Old Icelandic hrogn, neuter plural, Anglo-Saxon *hrogn, English roan, roe. Gothic *hrugna- is by chance not recorded. The true source of the word cannot be found; some connect it with Anglo-Saxon hrog, ‘nasal mucus,’ others with Greek κρόκη, ‘pebble,’ Sanscrit çarkara, ‘gravel.’