An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Erbse

by Friedrich Kluge

Erbse, feminine, ‘pea,’ from the equivalent Middle High German arcweiȥ, ęrweiȥ, ęrwiȥ, feminine, Old High German araweiȥ, arwîȥ, feminine; corresponding to Old Low German ęrit, Dutch erwt, ert, Old Icelandic ertr, plural. The cognates are probably borrowed, as is indicated by the similarity in sound to Greek ἐρέβινθος and ὄροβος, ‘chick-pea’ (see Almosen); compare also Latin ervum, ‘bitter vetch,’ akin to the equivalent Anglo-Saxon earfe. Direct adoption from Greek or Latin is impossible; the way it was introduced cannot be discovered. Probably Erbse is one of the words which Greek and Teutonic have obtained from the same source, as in the case of Hanf. In English, Latin pisum (French pois) was adopted for ‘pea’ early in the Anglo-Saxon period; compare Anglo-Saxon peose, pise, English pease (and pea).