An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/flechten

by Friedrich Kluge

flechten, verb, ‘to plait, braid, wreathe,’ from the equivalent Middle High German vlëhten, Old High German vlëhtan; a corresponding Gothic *flaíhtan, akin to flahta, feminine, ‘lock of hair,’ is wanting; Old Icelandic flétta for flehtan. Teutonic root fleht, from pre-Teutonic plekt; the t, as also in Latin plecto compared with plicare, was originally only a formative element of the present tense, for according to Greek πλέκω, πλοκή, πλόκος, the Aryan root must have been plek; compare Sanscrit praçna, ‘braid, basket.’ Falten (root falþ) and flechten (root fleh) are entirely unrelated.