An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/schicken

by Friedrich Kluge

schicken, verb, ‘to bring about, send, despatch,’ from Middle High German schicken, ‘to bring about, do, create, prepare, set going, depute, send.’ This verb, undoubtedly a primitive form, which is wanting in Old High German and the Old Teutonic dialects generally, seems, like Gothic skêwjan and Old Icelandic skœ́va, ‘to go,’ to be connected with a primitively Teutonic root skē̆hw (skē̆w) from pre-Teutonic skē̆q (to which Old Irish scuchim, ‘I go away,’ from skok? is allied). Akin to late Middle High German schic, masculine, ‘method,’ and shicklich, which first occurs in Modern High German; see geschickt. These specifically German cognates, which passed into Dutch, Frisian, and Scandinavian, are wanting in Old High German until the 12th century; on account of their formation, however, they must be very old; Old High German *scicchen, Gothic *skikkjan. Allied to (ge)schehen. Derivative Schicksal.