An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Weizen

by Friedrich Kluge

Weizen, m., ‘wheat,’ from MidHG. weitze, OHG. weizzi, m. The dial. (unknown only in Bav.?) variant Weißen (Swiss, UpSwab., Wetterau, UpHess., Hennegau, and Thuringian) is based on MidHG. weiȥe, OHG. weiȥi (tz and sz interchanged in this word on account of the older inflectional interchange of tj and ti; comp. reizen and heizen); hence Weißbrod as well as Weizen?. Corresponding to the equiv. Goth. hwaiteis (dat. hwaitja), OIc. hveite, AS. hwœ̂te, E. wheat, Du. weit, OSax. hwêti. Lith. kvëtẏs, ‘grains of wheat,’ is borrowed from Teut. Weizen is rightly regarded, on account of the white flour, as a derivative of weiß (comp. Sans. çvitnyá çvêtá, ‘white’).