An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/echt

by Friedrich Kluge

echt, adjective, ‘genuine, real, legitimate,’ simply Modern High German adopted from Middle German and Low German, where echt is the normal corresponding of Middle High German and Old High German êhaft, ‘lawful’; compare Dutch echt; akin to Old Frisian âft, ‘lawful’; from Ehe, compared with which the adjective has retained the old meaning of Ehe, ‘law.’ By means of the law-books based on the Saxon Code the Low German adjective found its way into High German but not until after Luther; yet the word does not occur in the Upper German dialects.