An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/verlangen

by Friedrich Kluge

verlangen, verb, ‘to claim, demand,’ from Middle High German (rare) verlangen, ‘to desire ardently,’ usually Middle High German belangen, ‘to desire, long for.’ Old Saxon langôn, Dutch verlangen, Anglo-Saxon lǫngian, English to long, show the correspondence of the Teutonic languages. The word is usually regarded as an old derivative of lang, but this is opposed by the meaning; it might be rather compared with the cognates of gelingen, the primary meaning of which is ‘to aim, strive.’ —