An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Ente
Ente, feminine, ‘duck,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ęnte (for *ęnete), ant (plural ęnte), Old High German anut, ęnit, feminine; a term common to Teutonic; compare Middle Low German anet(d), Dutch eend, Anglo-Saxon œned, Old Icelandic ǫnd, feminine, ‘duck.’ The assumed Gothic form *anuþs points to a primitive kinship with Latin anat-, ‘duck,’ with which some have also connected Sanscrit âti (see, however, Eider), as well as Old Slovenian ątĭ, Lithuanian ántis, ‘duck.’ For the English term ‘duck’ (Anglo-Saxon dûce), see tauchen). —