An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Faß

by Friedrich Kluge

Faß, n., ‘vessel, cask, vat,’ from MidHG. vaȥ, OHG. faȥ(ȥȥ), n., ‘cask, vessel, chest’; corresponds to MidLG. and Du. vat, AS. fœt, ‘vessel, receptacle, chest’ (E. vat), OIc. fat, ‘cask.’ The prim. signification of those cognates (pre-Teut. podo-) may have been ‘receptacle,’ and since Fessel is an allied word, we have to postulate the meaning ‘to hold together’ for the Teut. root fat. Lith. pũdas, ‘pot, vessel,’ would be in Goth. *fôta- instead of *fata-. ModHG. Gefäß is not an immediate derivative of Faß, because it assumes a Goth. *gafêti, n., See fassen, Fetzen, Fitze.