An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Leiter

by Friedrich Kluge

Leiter, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German leiter, leitere, Old High German leitara (earlier *hleitir), feminine, ‘ladder.’ It corresponds to Dutch ladder, leer, Anglo-Saxon hlœ̂dder, hlœ̂der, feminine, English ladder; the Gothic term *hlai-dri (genitive -drjôs), feminine, ‘ladder,’ with a feminine suffix identical with Greek -τρια, is wanting; *hlaí-dri is based on the hlī̆ (pre-Teutonic klī̆) discussed under lehnen, and in Greek κλῖ-μαξ this root has a meaning corresponding to that of the West Teutonic word; Leiter is as it were ‘that which slants or leans.’ Scandinavian hleiðr, ‘tent,’ may be connected with the equivalent Gothic hleiþra, feminine, and Greek κλισία. Compare Lehne, lehnen, and Leite.