An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Sieb

by Friedrich Kluge

Sieb, neuter, ‘sieve,’ from the equivalent Middle High German sip (b), Old High German sib, neuter; compare the equivalent Dutch zeef (and zift); Anglo-Saxon sife, neuter, English sieve; derived, like siftan, ‘to sift’ (see sichten), from a root sib (seb), which is not found elsewhere.