An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Hifthorn

by Friedrich Kluge

Hifthorn, also Hüfthorn (a corruption due to the fact that the horn was carried attached to a belt around the waist — ‘Hüfte’), ‘hunting-horn,’ ModHG. simply; the earliest ModHG. form is Hiefhorn; Hief, also Hift, ‘the blast from a hunter’s horn.’ Allied to Goth. hiufan, AS. heófan, OHG. hiufan, ‘to wail, howl’?.