An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Kiste

by Friedrich Kluge

Kiste, f., ‘box,’ from MidHG. kiste, OHG. chista, f., ‘box, chest’; comp. Du. kist, AS. čest, čîste, E. chest, OIc. kista, ‘box.’ In Goth. a cognate term is wanting. The assumption that the Teut. languages borrowed Lat. cista (Gr. κίστη) at a very early period, at any rate long before the change of the initial c of cista into tz, presents no greater difficulty than in the case of Arche; comp. Korb, Koffer, and Sack. Hence between Kasten and Kiste there is no etymological connection; the first has no cognate term in Lat.