An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Tod

by Friedrich Kluge

Tod, m., ‘death,’ from the equiv. MidHG. tôt (d), OHG. tôd, m.; corresponding to Goth. dauþus, OSax. dôth, Du. dood, AS. deáþ, E. death. A verbal abstract of the Teut. verbal root dau, which has been preserved in OIc. deyja, str. vb. (whence the equiv. E. to die); comp. OSax. dôian (from daujan), OHG. and MidHG. touwen (MidHG. töuwen), wk. vb., ‘to die.’ Teut. dau-þu- has the Lat.-Sans. suffix tu- (base dháu-tu-s). The adj. cognate ModHG. tot, ‘dead,’ is based on the to partic. of the same root, dhā̆u (partic. dhautó), With these are connected in the non-Teut. languages OSlov. daviti, ‘to strangle,’ Lith. dóvyti, ‘to torment,’ which correspond as causatives to Goth. dôjan (for *dôwjan), ‘to torment’ (lit. ‘to put to death’). The orig. form of the root was dhē̆w, dhō̆w.