An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Litze

by Friedrich Kluge

Litze, feminine, ‘twisted lace, bobbin,’ from Middle High German litze, feminine, ‘twisted lace, cord as a barrier’; from Latin lîcium, neuter, ‘thread.’ The change made in the quantity when the word was borrowed in Middle High German as lĭtze is analogous to that in Lilie and Linie. From the Latin lîcium (whence French lice, ‘lists, arena’) are also derived Zwillich and Drillich, which see.