An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Zwehle

by Friedrich Kluge

Zwehle, feminine, ‘towel,’ from Middle High German twęhele, twęhel, dwęhele, dwêle, feminine (also quęhele, Thuringian Quähle), ‘drying cloth, towel,’ Old High German dwahila, dwęhila, dwahilla. feminine, ‘towel, napkin, small napkin.’ The implied Gothic *þwahljô (old Anglo-Saxon thwehlœ) is a derivative of þwahl, ‘bath, washing,’ and hence signified ‘that which belongs to bathing.’ The cognates are connected with Modern High German (dialectic) zwagen, ‘to wash,’ from the equivalent Middle High German twaken, dwahen, Old High German dwahan; an old common Teutonic word for ‘to wash.’ Compare Gothic þwahan, Old Saxon thwahan, Anglo-Saxon þweán, Old Icelandic þvá, Danish toe, tvœtte, Swedish tvo, tvätta, ‘to wash.’ With these are connected Gothic þwahl, ‘bath,’ Anglo-Saxon þweál, ‘washing,’ Old High German dwahal, ‘bath,’ Old Icelandic þvál, ‘soap,’ Middle High German twuhel, ‘bathing tub.’ In the allied Aryan languages only Prussian twaxtan, ‘bathing apron,’ is cognate; Greek τέγγω, Latin tingo, ‘to moisten,’ are not connected with it. From Old Teutonic is derived the Romance class, Italian tovaglia, French touaille, equivalent to English towel.