An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Keller
Keller, masculine, ‘cellar,’ from the equivalent Middle High German këller, masculine, Old High German chëllâri, masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon kellere, masculine; Scandinavian kjallare, masculine; a Teutonic loan-word which probably passed from the South through Upper Germany to the North; in England only the word did not obtain in the older period; English cellar originated in the Old French celier. The word was borrowed from late Latin cellarium (with a change of gender and accent) in the pre-Old High German period, since the terms borrowed from Latin in Old High German change Latin c before open vowels into z (tz); compare Kreuz. Keller may have been introduced into Germany from the South at the same time as Kelch (which see), perhaps with the culture of the vine; yet the word signifies generally ‘subterranean storeroom.’ —