An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/barsch

by Friedrich Kluge

barsch, adjective, ‘rough, rude,’ a modern word, appearing also in Dutch (barsch) and Swedish (barsk), but foreign to the Upper German dialects. It is not found in Old Teutonic. In Swiss dialects the term is baröösch (with the accent on the second syllable), in which perhaps the base of barsch is preserved; Italian brusco (French brusque) may be connected with it. In Swiss occurs also barš in the phrase barš gâ, ‘to go alone’; it also means ‘without a hat, a coat.’ Both significations point to its derivative from bar. Yet barsch may have originated in the Teutonic root bars, ‘to be bristly, rough,’ mentioned under the preceding word, especially as Dutch barsch means literally ‘rough.’