An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Geiz

by Friedrich Kluge

Geiz, m., ‘avarice,’ allied to geizen, MidHG. gîtsen (gîzen), beside which MidHG. gîten, ‘to be greedy, covetous, or avaricious’ occurs; comp. AS. gîtsian, ‘to be covetous.’ The term for Geiz in MidHG. and OHG. was gît, ‘greediness, covetousness, avarice,’ for geizig, MidHG. gîtec, OHG. gîtag, ‘greedy, covetous, avaricious’; respecting the derivation of Geiz from geizen, see Ärger, handeln. Akin to Goth. gaidw, n., ‘want.’ With the Teut. root gaid, gī̆d (Aryan ghaidh), are connected Lith. geidżiù (geísti), ‘to desire,’ OSlov. židą, žĭdati, ‘to expect.’