An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/kleben

by Friedrich Kluge

kleben, vb., ‘to cleave (to),’ from MidHG. klëben, OHG. chlëbên, vb., ‘to cleave, adhere, hold on’ (for ë from Teut. and Aryan ĭ comp. Quecksilber, leben, verwesen, &c.); corresponding to OSax. kliƀôn, AS. cleofian, E. to cleave; Goth. *klibôn is wanting; Scand. klifa has only the figurative sense ‘to cling to,’ i.e., ‘to repeat.’ A common Teut. vb. meaning ‘to cleave (to),’ formed from the weakest vowel stage of the Teut. root klī̆b (see kleiben).