An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Löwe

by Friedrich Kluge

Löwe, masculine, ‘lion,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lęwe, lëwe (louwe, löuwe), Old High German lëwo, lęwo (louwo), masculine; compare Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon leo, Dutch leeuw; undoubtedly a loan-word, since there is no common Teutonic and no old Aryan term for ‘lion.’ Latin leo, however, does not suffice to explain all the German forms of Middle Europe. Old High German louwo and Middle High German löuwe, ‘lion,’ are specially abnormal (English lion is derived from French lion). These late occurring Old High German forms with ou are preserved in Modern High German names of places and streets, such as Lauenburg, Lauengasse. The Middle High German feminine lunze (also lewinne), ‘lioness,’ still remains obscure.