An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/werben

by Friedrich Kluge

werben, verb, ‘to sue (for), solicit,’ from Middle High German wërben (wërven), Old High German wërban, wërvan (earlier hwërfan), strong verb, ‘to turn, walk to and fro, strive hard, make an effort, be active, be doing something, accomplish something.’ For the evolution of meaning of Modern High German werben, compare Latin ambire. The literal sense of the Teutonic root hwërf is ‘to move to and fro,’ as is shown by Wirbel. Compare Old Saxon hwërƀan, ‘to walk to and fro,’ Dutch werven, ‘to woo,’ Gothic hwaírban (and hwarbôn), ‘to wander.’ A corresponding Aryan root qerp (kerp) is not found in non-Teutonic. Compare Werft (2).