An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Leiter

by Friedrich Kluge

Leiter, f., from the equiv. MidHG. leiter, leitere, OHG. leitara (earlier *hleitir), f., ‘ladder.’ It corresponds to Du. ladder, leer, AS. hlœ̂dder, hlœ̂der, f., E. ladder; the Goth. term *hlai-dri (gen. -drjôs), f., ‘ladder,’ with a fem. suffix identical with Gr. -τρια, is wanting; *hlaí-dri is based on the hlī̆ (pre-Teut. klī̆) discussed under lehnen, and in Gr. κλῖ-μαξ this root has a meaning corresponding to that of the West Teut. word; Leiter is as it were ‘that which slants or leans.’ Scand. hleiðr, ‘tent,’ may be connected with the equiv. Goth. hleiþra, f., and Gr. κλισία. Comp. Lehne, lehnen, and Leite.