An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Weihe

by Friedrich Kluge

Weihe, f. (Weih, m.), ‘kite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. wîe, OHG. wîe (wîjo), m.; a specifically HG. word (comp. Du. wouw?), Connected with the root wī̆, ‘to chase,’ mentioned under Weide (2)?. In that case Weih would mean lit. ‘hunter, sportsman.’