An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Kram

by Friedrich Kluge

Kram, m., ‘retail trade,’ from MidHG. krâm, m., prop. ‘stretched cloth, marquee,’ espec. ‘covering of a stall,’ then the ‘stall’ itself (also called krâme, f.), ‘trade wares’; corresponding to Du. kraam, f., ‘retail shop, wares,’ then, strangely enough, ‘child-bed,’ which must have originated in the meaning ‘stretched cloth,’ as the covering for the bed. A specifically G. word introduced into the North by commerce (Ic. kram, n., ‘wares,’ Lith. krómas). ‘Tent-cloth’ may have been the prim. meaning of Goth. *krêma-.