An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Zieche

by Friedrich Kluge

Zieche, feminine, ‘cover of a feather-bed, tick,’ from Middle High German zieche, Old High German ziahha, feminine, ‘coverlet, pillow-case’; corresponding to Dutch tijk, English tick. Latin-Greek thêca, whence also French taie, ‘pillow-case,’ as well as Old Irish tíach, ‘tick,’ was adopted in High German contemporaneously with Kiffen and Pfühl, hence thêca was permutated to ziahha.