An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/wetzen

by Friedrich Kluge

wetzen, verb, ‘to whet, sharpen,’ from Middle High German wętzen, Old High German węzzen (from *hwazzjan), weak verb, ‘to sharpen’; compare Dutch wetten, Anglo-Saxon hwęttan, English to whet, Old Icelandic hvetja, ‘to sharpen.’ A common Teutonic weak verb, properly strong. The Teutonic strong verbal root hwat, from Aryan kwod (by gradation kud), seems to be equivalent to the Sanscrit root cud, ‘to whet, sharpen, set on fire, incite’ (compare Anglo-Saxon hwęttan, Old Icelandic hvetja, ‘to excite, incite,’ properly ‘to sharpen’). The older Teutonic periods preserve the adjectives hwassa- (Gothic hwass, Old High German and Middle High German was) and hwato- (Anglo-Saxon hwœt, Old High German waȥ), ‘sharp,’ from the root hwat.