An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/gleiten

by Friedrich Kluge

gleiten, verb, ‘to glide, slide, slip,’ from the equivalent Middle High German glîten, Old High German glîtan, strong verb; corresponding to Old Saxon glîdan, Dutch glijden, glijen, Anglo-Saxon glîdan, English to glide. Although the roots of gleiten (Aryan ghlī̆-t) and glatt (Aryan ghladh) are as indubitably allied as those of Glanz and gleißen, it is impossible to determine the relation between them more definitely.