An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/tauen

by Friedrich Kluge

tauen, verb, ‘to thaw,’ from Middle High German touwen, töuwen, Old High German douwen, dęwen (dôan), weak verb, ‘to dissolve’; compare Dutch dooijen, Anglo-Saxon þâwan, English to thaw, Old Icelandic þeyja. With Modern High German Tauwind, masculine, ‘thaw wind, compare Dutch dooij, English thaw, Old Icelandic þeyr. If the Teutonic root þaw, ‘to dissolve’ (compare verdauen), exhibited in all these words, has originated in þagw, equivalent to Aryan tē̆q, Greek τήκω, ‘to melt,’ τακερός, ‘liquid,’ may be counted as cognates. Yet the Teutonic words, as well as Osset. t‘ayun, ‘to thaw,’ may point to an Aryan root taw.