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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Floh

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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, F (1891)
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis
Floh
Friedrich Kluge2508281An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, F — Floh1891John Francis Davis

Floh, m., ‘flea,’ from MidHG. vlôch, vlô, m., f., OHG. flôh, m.; a common Teut. term; comp. Du. floo, AS. fleáh, E. flea, OIc. fló. It probably means ‘fugitive,’ and is akin to fliehen; hence a Goth. *þláuhs, not *fláuhs, is to be assumed. But even if *fláuhs is the Goth. form, it cannot be connected with either Gr. Ψύλλα or Lat. pulex, since neither vowels nor consonants are in accord. Fliegen too is unrelated, since the final sound of its stem is g only, and not h.