An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/weifen

by Friedrich Kluge

weifen, verb, ‘to wind, reel,’ from Middle High German weifen, weak verb, ‘to swing, wind on a reel,’ a factitive of Middle High German wîfen, strong verb, ‘to swing, wind.’ It is based on a Teutonic root wī̆p, ‘to turn,’ which appears also in Gothic weipan, ‘to wreathe’ (waips, ‘wreath’); with this root Latin vibrare, ‘to brandish, vibrate,’ is primitively cognate. Allied to Wipfel and Wimpel.