An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/ziehen

by Friedrich Kluge

ziehen, verb, ‘to draw, pull, march,’ from the equivalent Middle High German ziehen, Old High German ziohan; a common Teutonic strong verb; compare Gothic tiuhan, Old Saxon tiohan, Anglo-Saxon teon. The Teutonic verbal root tuh (tug) corresponds to an Aryan root duk, which has been preserved in Latin dûco, ‘to lead.’ From the same root the cognates of Zaum, Zeug, Zecht (Herzog), and the (properly) Low German Tau, neuter, are derived.