An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Kieme

by Friedrich Kluge

Kieme, feminine, ‘gill (of a fish),’ Modern High German simply, from the equivalent Low German kîm; allied to Old High German chiela, chêla, as well as Anglo-Saxon cîan, ceón, with the same meaning. Since the forms corresponding exactly in sound with Kieme are wanting in the earlier periods, its origin is uncertain; some have connected it with kauen, root kiw (Aryan giw).