An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/schauen

by Friedrich Kluge

schauen, verb, ‘to look at, gaze,’ from Middle High German schouwen, Old High German scouwôn, ‘to see, look at, contemplate’; compare Old Saxon scauwôn, Dutch schouwen, Anglo-Saxon sceáwian, ‘to look at’ (whence English to show); Gothic *skaggwôn is wanting, to this usskawjan, ‘to restore to consciousness.’ From the root skau, skū̆, ‘to see’ (see schön), are also derived Gothic skuggwa, masculine, ‘mirror,’ Old High German scû-char, ‘mirror,’ further Old High German scûwo, Anglo-Saxon scûa, Old Icelandic skugge, masculine, ‘shadow’ (see Spiegel); also Old Icelandic skygna (Gothic *skuggwinôn), ‘to spy,’ skyn, neuter and feminine, ‘perceiving,’ skoða, ‘to spy.’ In the non-Teutonic languages, Sanscrit kavis, ‘sage, poet,’ Latin cavere, ‘to beware,’ Greek κοέω, ‘I mark,’ Old Slovenian čują, čuti, ‘to be sensible of, feel, perceive,’ are also connected with the root skū̆, skau, or rather kū̆, kau.