An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Ostern

by Friedrich Kluge

Ostern, feminine plur, from the equivalent Middle High German ôster, feminine, more usual ôsteren, plural, Old High German ôstarûn, feminine plural, ostara, feminine, ‘Easter’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon eáster, neuter, eástro, feminine plural whence the equivalent English Easter. Probably applied at an earlier period to an old heathen festival of the West Teutons. It is based upon the name of an Old Teutonic goddess of spring, Austrô, which must be identical with Indian usrâ, ‘dawn’ (between s and r, t is inserted in Teutonic, see Schwester). The Old Aryan Aurôra had among the Teutons, to some extent at least, exchanged the character of a goddess of dawn for that of the light-bearing goddess of spring. This is indicated by the time of the Easter festival; the Christian season must have coincided with the heathen, since the name of the latter was appropriated. Bede testifies to the existence of the Old Teutonic goddess by the mention of the English dialectic form Eostra (for West Saxon Eástre). Ausôs, the Old Teutonic name of Aurôra, was the origin of the Teutonic derivatives for ‘east,’ as well as Anglo-Saxon eárendel, ‘morning star, daybreak,’ whence the Old High German proper name Ôrentil in the later Orendel legends. See Osten.