An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Karfreitag

by Friedrich Kluge

Karfreitag, m., ‘Good Friday,’ from the equiv. MidHG. karvrîtac, mostly kartac, m.; Karwoche, ‘Passion Week,’ is also current even in MidHG. The first part of the compound is OHG. chara, f., ‘lamentation. mourning’ (charasang, ‘elegy’). This OTeut. word for Klage, ‘lament,’ as distinguished from the other synonyms, signifies properly the silent, inward mourning, not the loud wailing, for in Goth. the cognate kara, f., means ‘care,’ AS. cearu, f., ‘care, suffering, grief,’ E. care. A corresponding vb. signifying ‘to sigh’ is preserved in OHG. quëran (Goth. *qaíran). Other derivatives of the Teut. root kar, qer, are wanting. See also karg.