An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Ähren

by Friedrich Kluge

Ähren, m., ‘vestibule’ (dial.), from MidHG. ęrn, m., ‘floor, threshing-floor,’ also ‘ground, bottom,’ OHG. ęrin, m. (Goth. *arins), to which OIc. arenn, m., ‘hearth,’ corresponds. Further, OHG. ëro, OIc. jǫrve, ‘earth,’ as well as Lat. area, ‘courtyard, threshing-floor,’ Lat. arvum, ‘plain, cornfield,’ and Gr. ἔραζε, ‘to the ground,’ may be cognate.