An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/dürr

by Friedrich Kluge

dürr, adj., ‘dry, meagre, barren,’ from MidHG. dürre, OHG. durri, ‘withered, dry, lean’; corresponds to Du. dor, OLG. thurri, AS. þyrre, Goth. þaúrsus, ‘dry’ (with regard to HG. rr, from Goth. rs, comp. irre, Farre). From a pre-Teut. adj. þurzu-, ‘dry, withered,’ which belongs to a root þurs, from pre-Teut. tṛs. As a result of the restriction of the word — probably in primit. times — to denote the dryness of the throat, we have the OInd. tṛšús, ‘greedy, panting,’ and ModHG. dürsten; as applied to the voice, or rather speech, tṛs appears in Gr. τραυλός, ‘lisping,’ for *τρασυλός (comp. δαυλός, ‘dense,’ for *δασυλός, Lat. densus), and OInd. tṛšṭá-s, ‘hoarse, rough (of the voice).’ With the general meaning ‘dry,’ ModHG. Darre, dörren, and their cognates are connected.