An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Flosse

by Friedrich Kluge

Flosse, f., from the equiv. MidHG. vloȥȥe, OHG. floȥȥa, f., ‘float; Floßfeder, ‘fin,’ even in MidHG. vloȥvëdere, in OSax. simply fëthara, ‘float,’ like Gr. πτέρυξ, ‘feather, float,’ Lat. pinna, ‘feather, float.’ See Finne. Flosse, akin to fließen, ‘to float.’