An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/rauh

by Friedrich Kluge

rauh, adj., ‘rough, harsh, coarse,’ from MidHG. rûch (infl. rûher), OHG. rûh (infl. rûhêr), adj., ‘rongh, shaggy, bristly’; comp. MidDu. ruch, ModDu. ruig, ruw, ‘rough,’ AS. rûh, E. rough. Goth. *rûhs, rûhws, are wanting. Perhaps primit. allied to Lith. raúkas, ‘wrinkle,’ rùkti, ‘to become wrinkled.’ The compound Rauchwerk, ‘furs, skins,’ preserves normally the uninflected form of MidHG. rûch. See rauch.