An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Räder

by Friedrich Kluge

Räder, masculine, also Rädel, ‘sieve,’ allied to Middle High German rëden, Old High German rëdan, ‘to sift, winnow.’ The Teutonic stem is probably hreþ-, hence the word may be related to Lithuanian krétalas, ‘sieve,’ kreczù, ‘to shake’; allied also perhaps to Latin cer-nere, ‘to sift’ (creteus, ‘sifted’).