An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/emsig

by Friedrich Kluge

emsig, adj., ‘busy, active, assiduous, industrious,’ from MidHG. ęmȥec, ęmȥic, OHG. ęmaȥȥig, ęmiȥȥig (also with tz) ‘constant, persistent, continuous’; Suab. and Alem. have fleißig, instead of the non-existent emsig. A derivative by means of the suffix -ig from OHG. ęmiȥ, whence MidHG. ęmeȥliche. Its connection with Muße is questionable, since ă- as an accented prefix is not to be found. AS. œ̂metig, emtig, ‘free, empty,’ E. empty, is not allied. With greater probability, the West Teut. term for ‘ant’ (see Ameise) is related to emsig.