An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Winkel

by Friedrich Kluge

Winkel, masculine, ‘angle, corner, nook,’ from the equivalent Middle High German winkel, Old High German winchil, masculine; corresponding to Dutch winkel, Anglo-Saxon wincel, ‘angle,’ to which Gothic waíhsta, masculine, ‘angle, corner,’ formed from a nasalised root, is allied. The primary meaning of the word is probably ‘bend.’ See Wink.