An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Bleihe

by Friedrich Kluge

Bleihe, f., ‘whitebait, bleak,’ Du. term for a ‘species of white fish; comp. Du. blei, MidLG. and MidDu. bleie, AS. blœ̂ge, E. *blay; from blajjôn for *blaigjôn (comp. OHG. reia, AS. rœ̂ge, from raigjon; see under Reh). As ModHG. Ricke is a parallel form of OHG. reia, so MidHG. and ModHG. (Swiss) blicke is a variant of LG. bleie. The primary meaning and further cognates are uncertain; OHG. bleihha, MidHG. bleiche, would point to a connection with bleich (comp. OIc. blígja, ‘to glance at’).