An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/saugen

by Friedrich Kluge

saugen, verb, ‘to suck, absorb,’ from the equivalent Middle High German sûgen, Old High German sûgan; Dutch zuigen, Middle Low German sûgen, Anglo-Saxon sûgan (also sûcan, English to suck), Old Icelandic súga have the same meaning; Gothic *sûgan, *sûkan are by chance not recorded. Teutonic root sū́g (sū̆k), from pre-Teutonic sū̆k (sū̆g); compare Latin sûgere, Lettic sūzu (sūkt), ‘to suck,’ Old Irish súgim (also Old Slovenian sŭsą, sŭsati, ‘I suck’?).