An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/fegen

by Friedrich Kluge

fegen, verb, ‘to sweep, scour, winnow (corn), purge,’ from Middle High German vëgen (Old High German *fegôn), ‘to purify, adorn, sweep, scour,’ Dutch vegen. Gothic *figôn is connected with Gothic fagrs, ‘suitable,’ Anglo-Saxon fœ̂ger, English fair, Old High German and Old Saxon fagar; from the root feh, fah, fag, fôg in fügen; Old Icelandic fœgja, ‘to cleanse,’ probably belongs to the same root (the Gothic form being fégjan); Aryan root, pē̆k, pō̆k?.