An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/gestalt

by Friedrich Kluge

gestalt, adjective, ‘having form or shape,’ in wohlgestalt, ungestalt; compare Middle High German ungestalt, Old High German ungistalt, ‘disfigured, ugly,’ Middle High German wolgestalt (wol ges'ęllet); a participle of Middle High German stęllen, which may also mean ‘to shape, make, accomplish, set in order.’ To this is allied Gestalt, feminine, ‘external appearance, shape, figure, mien,’ Middle High German gestalt, feminine, ‘shape, appearance, nature,’ Old High German *gistalt. Considering the comparatively late appearance of the word (not until the end of the 13th century), Gestalt may have been derived from the old compound, Old High German ungistalt, Middle High German ungestalt, adjective, ‘disfigured.’