An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/hoch

by Friedrich Kluge

hoch, adj., ‘high, lofty, proud, dear,’ from the equiv. MidHG. hôch, OHG. hôh, adj.; a common Teut. adj. with the meaning ‘high’; comp. Goth. hauhs, OIc. hár (for hauhr), AS. heáh, E. high, Du. hoog, OSax. hôh; Teut. hauha-, from the uupermutated pre-Teut. káuko- (the weakest vowel stage of the stem is exhibited by the cognate Hügel). OTeut. possessed a mas. and neu. subst. formed from the adj. in the sense of ‘hill’ (type kaukó-s); comp. OIc. haugr (from which E. how in proper names was borrowed), MidHG. houc (-ges), to which such proper names as Donnershaugk are akin. Goth. hiuhma, m., ‘heap, crowd,’ seems also allied. In the non-Teut. languages it is rightly compared with Lith. kaukará, ‘hill, height,’ kaúkas, ‘boil’ (MidHG. hübel, m., ‘hill,’ is connected with Lith. kùpstas, ‘tump,’ as well as to OHG. hofar, AS. hofer, ‘hump’).