An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Geier

by Friedrich Kluge

Geier, m., ‘vulture, carrion kite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. gîr, m., akin to LG. gier. On account of the early appearance of the G. word we cannot assume that it was borrowed from the Rom. cognates, Ital. girfalco, Fr. gerfaut (whence MidHG. gir-valke is derived), or from Lat. Gr. gyrare, ‘to wheel round.’ The connection between OHG. gîr with OHG. gī̆ri, MidHG. gîre (geier still occurs in ModHG. dials.), ‘greedy, covetous,’ and the Teut. root gī̆r, ‘to covet,’ presents no difficulty. Geier is lit. ‘the greedy bird.’ See gern, Gier.