An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Schlohe

by Friedrich Kluge

Schlohe, f., ‘sloe,’ from the equiv. MidHG. slêhe, OHG. slêha, f.; a common Teut. term; comp. Du. slee, AS. slâ, slâhaœ, f., E. sloe, Swed. slån, Dan. slaaen, ‘sloe’; Goth. *slaihô, or rather *slaihwô, are by chance not recorded. The cognates are usually connected with LG. slee, ‘blunt’; comp. OHG. slêo, OSax. slêo (Du. sleeuw, ‘bitter, harsh’), AS. slâw (E. slow), OIc. sljór, slœ́r, ‘blunt,’ hence the lit. meaning of Schlehe is perhaps ‘the fruit that makes the teeth blunt.’ Yet the latter terms imply Goth. *slaiwa-, and the former Goth. *slaihô (*slaihwô), the explanation is dubious. So too, for the same reason, is the comparison with OSlov. sliva (Lith. slýwas), ‘plum,’ for which we should expect a Goth *sláiwô (though AS. slâ points to *sláihô).