An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Essen

by Friedrich Kluge

Essen, n., ‘food, meal, dinner,’ even in MidHG. ëȥȥen, OHG. ëȥȥan, n., as an equiv. subst.; it is scarcely an infinitive used as a subst., but rather an independent subst. form like Gr. ἐδανόν, ‘food,’ Sans. ádana, n., ‘provender.’