An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/treffen

by Friedrich Kluge

treffen, verb, ‘to hit, strike; guess; occur, happen,’ from Middle High German trëffen, Old High German trëffan, strong verb, ‘to hit, reach, fight’; compare Anglo-Saxon drëpan, Old Icelandic drepa, ‘to hit, push, strike.’ As to the Teutonic root drep (pre-Teutonic dhreb) contained in these cognates, nothing positive can be asserted. Compare Eintracht.