An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/List

by Friedrich Kluge

List, f., ‘craft, cunning, deceit,’ from MidHG. and OHG. list, m. (f. in MidG. and OHG.), ‘wisdom, prudence, slyness, sly purpose, cunning, art.’ Goth. lists is by chance not recorded with the ModHG. sense only. The meaning ‘prudence’ is the orig. one; AS. list, f., ‘art, propriety, cunning,’ E. list; OIc. list, f., ‘prudence, skill in an art, propriety.’ Thus the signification of the word fluctuates in several dials. between the prim. meaning ‘prudence’ and ‘cunning.’ The subst., as an old abstract in ti (Goth. listi-ns, acc. plur.), belongs by its structure to the Goth. pret. pres. lais, ‘I know’; the verbal stem lis, with the orig. sense ‘to know,’ is still widely diffused in HG., comp. lehren and lernen. Moreover, on the common Teut. listi- are based the Slav. cognates of OSlov. lĭstĭ and the Rom. class comprising Fr. leste and Ital. lesto, ‘skilful, nimble.’