An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/mischen

by Friedrich Kluge

mischen, verb, from the equivalent Middle High German and Middle Low German mischen, Old High German misken, ‘to mix’; compare Anglo-Saxon miscian, English to mix. In the other Old Teutonic languages a corresponding verb is wanting. The agreement with Latin misceo (miscere), ‘to mix,’ is evident. The only question is whether the word was primitively allied or was borrowed; that is difficult to determine, since, judging by sound and sense, both are possible. The assumption that the word was borrowed is supported by the loan-words relating to the Italian culture of the vine, which are quoted under Most. On the other hand, the Romance languages have instead of miscere a derivative misculare (French méler, equivalent to Old High German misculôn, Suabian mište); yet compare Italian mescere. On the supposition that the word was primitively allied, which is supported by Meisch, we should have to compare, in addition to the Latin term, Greek μίσγω (σγ equivalent to Teutonic sk?), μίγνυμι, the Sanscrit root miç in miçrá-s, ‘mixed,’ Old Slovenian měsiti, ‘to mix,’ Lithuanian mìsti, ‘to mingle’ (maísz-tas, ‘riot’). Hence Latin misceo, and, if mischen is primitively allied to it, Old Teutonic miskja represent a pre-historic mik-skejo (with sk as a suffix of the present stem, like forschen for pre-historic *forhskôn; compare waschen and wünschen). Compare Meisch.