An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Wickel

by Friedrich Kluge

Wickel, m. and n., ‘roll, curl-paper, distaff-ful (of flax),’ from MidHG. wickel, wickelin, OHG. wicchilî, wicchilîn, n., ‘roll, a quantity of flax or wool to spin off’; cognate with Wicke, ‘wick.’ Further cognates are wanting to explain the early history of the word. Allied to wickeln, vb. ‘to roll, wind, swathe,’ from late MidHG. wickeln, lit. ‘to make into the form of a roll’; also ModHG. Wickel, f., ‘swaddling clothes.’