An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/beizen

by Friedrich Kluge

beizen, verb, ‘to cauterise, pickle, etch,’ from Middle High German beiȥen (beitzen), weak verb, ‘to macerate, make soft, hawk at birds’; Old High German beiȥen (beizzen), original sense ‘to cause to bite,’ is the factitive of Old High German bîȥȥan, see beißen. The corresponding English to bait (a hook, a horse on a journey, and hence to put up, halt at a place, also to allure) is derived from the Scandinavian beita, which is identical with Old High German beizzan.