An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Ereignis

by Friedrich Kluge

Ereignis, n., ‘event, occurrence,’ for an earlier eröugnis from MidHG. eröugen, OHG. ir-ougen, ‘to show.’ OHG. ougen, Goth. augjan, ‘to show,’ are derivatives of Auge. Hence eröugnis means lit. ‘what is shown, what can be seen.’ The spelling Ereignis, found even in the 16th cent., was due to the corruption of a word no longer understood.