An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/rotten

by Friedrich Kluge

rotten (1.), verb, ‘to root out,’ formed from the earlier Middle German roten, a variant of Middle High German riuten, ‘to root out’; compare Bavarian rieden, Swiss ussrū̆de, ‘to root out.’

rotten (2.), verb, ‘to cause to rot or decay, Modern High German only, from the equivalent Low German and Dutch rotten; see rösten (2).