An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Eibe

by Friedrich Kluge

Eibe, feminine, ‘yew,’ from the equivalent Middle High German îwe, Old High German îwa, feminine (Middle High German also ‘a yew-tree bow’); compare the corresponding Anglo-Saxon îw, eów, English yew, and Old Icelandic ýr, masculine, ‘yew’ (and ‘bow’). Gothic *eiws is by chance not recorded. Swiss îche, îge, Old High German îha, Old Low German îch, Anglo-Saxon eoh, prove that the word had originally a medial guttural; hence the primary form Gothic *eihwa?. From the Teutonic word, Middle Latin îvus, French if, Spanish iva, ‘yew,’ are derived. The relation of Old High German îwa, îha, Anglo-Saxon îw, eoh, to Old Irish éo, Welsh yw, ‘yew’ (Lithuanian jëvà, ‘bird-cherry tree,’ Old Slovenian iva, ‘willows’), has yet to be determined.