An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Kufe
Kufe (1.), f., ‘runner of a sledge’; MidHG. *kuofe and *kuoche are wanting with this meaning, so too OHG. *chuofa; OHG. chuohha is found, however, in slito-chôha, ‘runner of a sledge’ (see examples of the interchange of k-ch and p-f under kriechen); comp. MidLG. kôke, ‘runner of a sledge.’ Perhaps Lith. żágrė, f., ‘forked piece of wood on a plough,’ is allied, and also its cognates żáginýs, m., ‘stake, post,’ żágaras, m., ‘dry twig.’ From these the evolution of meaning in Kufe may be inferred.
Kufe (2.), f., ‘coop, vat,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kuofe, OHG. chuofa, f. The prim. form of the word previous to the HG. permutation of consonants is represented by OSax. côpa, f., and the equiv. E. coop. From MidLat. côpa, a variant of cûpa, ‘cask,’ whence Du. kuip, ‘coop’; comp. also Kübel. The word must have been borrowed before the 7th cent., since it has undergone permutation in HG.; perhaps it was introduced with the culture of the vine.