An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/eigen

by Friedrich Kluge

eigen, adjective, ‘own, pertinent, peculiar, odd,’ from the equivalent Modern High German eigen, Old High German eigan; an adjective common to Teutonic; compare Old Saxon êgan, Dutch eigen, Anglo-Saxon âgen, English own, Old Icelandic eiginn; Gothic used swês for *aigans. The old adjective eigen is, as the suffix n shows, Prop. a participle ending in -ana- of a verb, which only appears, however, as a preterite present, meaning ‘to possess,’ throughout the Teutonic group; compare Gothic áigan, (áihan), Old Icelandic eiga, Anglo-Saxon âgan, ‘to have’ (English to owe), preterite in Anglo-Saxon âhte, in English ought, whence also Anglo-Saxon âgnian, English to own. The Teutonic root aig (aih), from pre-Teutonic aik, preserved in these words, has been connected with the Sanscrit root îç, ‘to possess, have as one's own,’ the participle of which, îçâná-s (îçâna-s), agrees exactly with High German eigan, Gothic *aigans. In Modern High German Fracht (which see) we have a substantive formed with a dental suffix (Gothic aihts, ‘property, possession,’ Old High German êht).