An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Herbst

by Friedrich Kluge

Herbst, m., ‘autumn, harvest,’ from the equiv. MidHG. hęrbest, OHG. hęrbist, m.; comp. MidLG. hervest, Du. herfst, AS. hœrfest, m., and the equiv. E. harvest; a common West Teut. word, archaic in form (whether OIc. haust, n., ‘autumn,’ Swed. and Dan. höst, are identical with Herbst is still very dubious). Hence the statement of Tacitus (Germ. 26) — ‘(Germani) autumni parinde nomen ac bona ignorantur,’ can scarcely be accepted. It is true that Herbst in UpG. is almost entirely restricted to ‘the fruit season,’ espec. ‘the vintage’ (the season itselt is prop. called Spätjahr, Suab. Spätling). This coincides with the fact that Herbst is connected with an obsolete Teut. root harb, from Aryan karp (Lat. carpere, καρπός, ‘fruit’), ‘to gather fruit,’ which perhaps appears also in Lith. kerpù (kìrpti), ‘to shear.’ In Goth. the term is asans (‘season for work, for tillage’; comp. Ernte).