An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/tragen

by Friedrich Kluge

tragen, verb, ‘to bear, carry, support, endure,’ from the equivalent Middle High German tragen, Old High German tragan, strong verb, ‘to bear, hold, bring, lead’; corresponding to Old Saxon dragan, Dutch dragen, Gothic dragan, strong verb, ‘to bear.’ Whether Old Icelandic draga, Anglo-Saxon dragan, equivalent to English to draw, are entirely different from these cognates is open to doubt. The Teutonic root drag, ‘to bear’ (from Aryan dhragh), has been compared with Old Slovenian drŭžati, ‘to hold’