An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/rutschen

by Friedrich Kluge

rutschen, verb, ‘to slide, glide, slip,’ from late Middle High German rütschen, ‘to glide,’ with the variant rützen. Perhaps it belongs to the same root as rütteln, rütten (zerrütten), which are based on Middle High German rütteln, rütten, ‘to shake.’