An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Lehne

by Friedrich Kluge

Lehne (1.), f., ‘back or arm (of a chair), balustrade, railing,’ from the equiv. MidHG. lëne, line, f., OHG. lina, f., ‘reclinatorium’ for *hlina, which was probably the form in Goth. also. Comp. Gr. κλῖνη, ‘couch, mattress’ (these meanings also belong to Lehne in earlier ModHG.), and for further cognates see lehnen and Leiter.

Lehne (2.), f., from the equiv. MidHG. liene, with the remarkable variant liehe, f., ‘wild sow’; its further connection are difficult to determine; the similarity in sound with the equiv. Fr. laie and MidLat. lêfa (for lêha?) must not be overlooked. It is doubtful whether Lehne is of Teut. origin.

Lehne (3.), f., ‘linch-pin’; comp. Lünse.

Lehne (4.), Lenne, f., ‘Norwegian maple’; MidHG. and OHG. lîn-, lîmboum, hence also earlier ModHG. Leinbaum; the ModHG. form is borrowed from a Northern dial.; Dan. lön, Swed. lönn. Moreover the term was orig. common to Teut.; it was applied to the ‘maple’ in all the older dials. except Goth.; OIc. hlynr, AS. hlyn (hlynn or hlîn?), and with these in the non Teut. languages Slav. klenŭ, and Lith. klévas, ‘maple,’ are primit. allied.