An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Teich

by Friedrich Kluge

Teich, masculine, ‘pond, pool,’ from Middle High German tîch, masculine, ‘fish-pond, pond’ (it is uncertain whether Old High German dîh, ‘eddy, whirlpool,’ is the same word. The Low German cognates of Modern High German Deich seem to be connected; Anglo-Saxon dîč, English ditch, dike (Old Icelandic díke), border on the meaning of Teich. Teutonic dîko- (from dhîghn-?) may be primitively allied to Greek τίφος (from dhîghos?), neuter, ‘pond, bog.’