An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Gegenwart

by Friedrich Kluge

Gegenwart, ‘presence, present time,’ from MidHG. gęgenwart, OHG. gęginmwarti, f., abstract of OHG. gaganwart, ‘present,’ whence MidHG. gęgenwertec, MulHG. gegenwärtig, ‘present.’ See the adj. suffix -wärts.