An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Husten

by Friedrich Kluge

Husten, m., ‘cough,’ from the equiv. MidHG. huoste, OHG. huosto, m., from an earlier *hwôsto with the loss of the w (Up. Alsat. and Swiss wuešte with the w retained and the h before it suppressed); comp. Du. hoest, AS. hwôsta, m., E. (dial.) whoost, Scand. hóste (for *hvóste), m., ‘cough.’ The verbal stem hwôs was retained in the AS. str. vb. (pret. hweós), beside which a wk. vb. hwêsan, E. wheeze, occurs. Teut. root hwôs (Goth. *hwôs-ta), from pre-Teut. kwôs, kâs, corresponds to the Sans. root kâs, ‘to cough,’ Lith. kósiu (kóseli), ‘to cough,’ OSlov. kašĭlĭ, m., ‘cough.’