An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Hülle

by Friedrich Kluge

Hülle, feminine, ‘envelop, covering, sheath,’ from Middle High German hülle, Old High German hulla (Gothic *hulja), feminine, ‘cloak, kerchief, covering’; allied to the root hel, ‘to cover for concealment,’ in hehlen. — Modern High German in Hülle und Fülle meant originally ‘in food and clothing’; hence Hülle und Fülle was used to denote all the necessaries of life, finally the idea of superfluity was combined with the phrase.