An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/speien

by Friedrich Kluge

speien, verb, ‘to spit, vomit,’ from the equivalent Middle High German spîen, Old High German spîwan, strong verb; a root verb common to Teutonic and found also in other Aryan languages. Compare Gothic speiwan, Old Icelandic spýja, Anglo-Saxon and Old Saxon spîwan, English spew and Dutch spuwen, ‘to spit’; corresponding to the equivalent Latin spuo, Greek πτύω, Lithuanian spiáuju, Old Slovenian pljują, Sanscrit šṭhîv. Speichel and speutzen are also connected probably with this common Aryan root spī̆w, ‘to spit.’