An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/impfen

by Friedrich Kluge

impfen, vb., ‘to ingraft, vaccinate,’ from the equiv. MidHG. (rare) impfen, OHG. (rare) impfôn, for which the usual forms are MidHG. imp(f)eten, OHG. impfitôn, mostly impitôn, ‘to inoculate, ingraft’; yet comp. also AS. impian, E. to imp. Impfen, just like pfropfen and pelzen, seems, on account of OHG. impfôn and AS. impian, to have been borrowed about the 7th or 8th cent. from Lat.; yet only OHG. impitôn can be explained as directly borrowed from a Lat. horticultural term; comp. Lat.-Rom. putare, ‘to prune’ (comp. Ital. potare, Span. podar), to which Franc. possen, Du. and LG. poten, ‘to ingraft,’ are related. The correspondence of OHG. impitôn, with Fr. enter, ‘to ingraft’ (from *empter), is remarkable; comp. Du., MidDu., and MidLG. enten, ‘to inoculate’ (from empten). With the MidLat. base imputare (tor Lat. amputare?), OHG. impfôn and AS. impian may be connected by the intermediate link impo(d)are, unless it is based rather like Fr. (Lorr.) opé, ‘to inoculate,’ upon a Lat. *impuare. The usual derivation of all the Teut. and Rom. words from Gr. ἐμφυτεύω, ἐμφύω, ‘to ingraft,’ is perhaps conceivable. Moreover, the medical term impfen has been current only since the 18th cent.