An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Zettel

by Friedrich Kluge

Zettel, masculine, from the equivalent late Middle High German zettel, masculine, ‘design or warp of a fabric’; allied to Middle High German and Old High German zetten, ‘to scatter, spread out,’ whence Modern High German verzetteln, ‘to disperse, spill.’ The early history of the root tad, seldom occurring in Old Teutonic, is obscure. — Zettel, masculine, ‘note, ticket, playbill, placard,’ from Middle High German zedele (zetele, zettele), ‘sheet of paper,’ is different from the preceding word. It is formed from Italian cedola (French céndle), ‘ticket,’ Middle Latin scedula (Greek σχέδη), ‘scrap of paper.’