An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Karpfen

by Friedrich Kluge

Karpfen, masculine, ‘carp,’ from the equivalent Middle High German karpfe, Old High German charpho, masculine; compare English carp; allied to Old Icelandic karfe. It cannot be decided whether Karpfen is a real Teutonic word; probably Middle Latin carpo, French carpe, and Italian carpione are derived from Teutonic. In Keltic too there are cognate terms for ‘carp,’ Welsh carp; compare also Russian karpŭ, koropŭ, Servian krap, Lithuanian kárpa, ‘carp.’