An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/fechten

by Friedrich Kluge

fechten, vb., ‘to fight, fence,’ from the equiv. MidHG. vëhten, OHG. fëhtan; a term common to West Teut. for ‘to fight, contend,’ unknown to Scand. and Goth.; comp. Du. and MidHG. vechten, OFris. fluchta, AS. feohtan, E. to fight. Whether the verb has always belonged to the e class is questionable; it may have passed from the pret. plur. and partic. of the u class into the e class; in that case, we should have to assume Goth. *fiuhtan, *fáuht, *faúhtum, *faúhtans, instead of *faíhtan, *faht, *faúhtam, *faúhtans. This conceivable assumption facilitates the connection with Lat. pugna, pugnare; yet the latter are probably only derivatives of pugnus, ‘fist’; perhaps the inferred Goth. *fiuhtan, ‘to fight,’ is similarly related to Faust.