An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/liegen

by Friedrich Kluge

liegen, verb, ‘to lie, be situated,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ligen, licken, Old High German licken, ligen, strong verb; corresponding to Dutch liggen, Anglo-Saxon ličǧan, English to lie (ligjan, lag, legans, was the originally gradation, but Gothic ligan in the present); the common Teutonic verb for liegen, which has numerous cognates in Aryan (root legh). Compare Greek λέκτρον, λέχος, neuter, ‘bed,’ ἄλοχος, ‘bed-fellow, wife,’ also λεχώ, ‘woman in childbed,’ λοχέω, ‘to give birth to’; λόχος, ‘lying in wait, bush,’ also ‘lying-in, childbirth, In Greek epic poets aorist forms of a verb formed from a root legh, λεχ, have been preserved, λέκτο, λέξατο, &c., with the meaning ‘to lie down, encamp.’ The verb is also wanting in Latin, where, however, lectus, ‘bed,’ a derivative of the root legh, is retained. Old Slovenian lęgą (lešti), ‘to lie down,’ lezą (ležati), ‘to lie.’ In East Aryan the root is unknown. Compare legen, Lager, and löschen.