An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Seele

by Friedrich Kluge

Seele, feminine, ‘soul,’ from the equivalent Middle High German sêle, Old High German sêla (sē̆ula), feminine; a word peculiar to Teutonic. Compare Gothic saiwala, feminine, Old Icelandic sala, feminine, Anglo-Saxon sâwl, sâwul, feminine, English soul, Dutch ziel, Old Saxon sē̆ola, feminine. The origin of the primitively Teutonic saiwolô, feminine, ‘soul,’ is obscure; it may be allied to See (Seele, literally ‘that which moves’): compare Greek αἰόλος. Its connection with Latin saeculum, ‘age, generation’ (literally ‘vital power’?), is equally possible; compare Sanscrit âyu, ‘vital power,’ similar to Latin aevum, ‘age, time.’