An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Keim

by Friedrich Kluge

Keim, m., ‘germ, bud, shoot,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kîm, kîme, m., OHG. chîm, chîmo, m. (Goth. *keima, m.). The Teut. root is kî, which is widely diffused in the Teut. group. Goth. has only the partic. of a vb. derived from this root, us-kijans, ‘sprouted,’ for which, however, an earlier variant, keins, ‘germinated,’ is assumed by the vb. us-keinan (-nôda). With the same root kî are connected the dental derives. AS. cîþ, OSax. kîð, OHG. chîdi ( ikîdi), MidHG. kîde, ModHG. dial. Keide, ‘shoot.’ OSax. and OHG. kînan, ‘to germinate,’ has a pres. affix n of the root kî; the identical AS. cînan, ‘to spring up, burst, burst to pieces, germinate,’ and the corresponding AS. subst. činu, MidE. chine, ‘rift, crack,’ prove that the meaning ‘to germinate’ originated in the actual perception of budding.