An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/hämisch

by Friedrich Kluge

hämisch, adj., ‘malicious,’ from late MidHG. hęmisch, adj., ‘close, malicious, cunning, perfidious,’ orig. perhaps ‘veiled, obscure’; allied to OHG. *hamo, ‘covering, dress,’ mentioned under Hamen, Hemd, and Leichnam.