An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Lerche

by Friedrich Kluge

Lerche, feminine, ‘lark,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lē̆rche, from lêreche, lêwreche, Old High German lêrahha, feminine; it is shown by the equivalent Dutch leeuwerik, Anglo-Saxon lâwrice, lœ̂werce, lâwerce, English lark, Scotch laverock, Old Swedish lœrikia, as well as the Middle High German variants lêwerich, lêwerech, lêwerch, that a fuller form would have been *lêwarahha in Old High German. The Gothic form cannot be determined with any certainty, nor can we say definitely whether the Old High German and Anglo-Saxon words are compounds or simply unusual derivatives,