An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/mager

by Friedrich Kluge

mager, adj., ‘lean, lank, meagre,’ from the equiv. MidHG. mager, OHG. magar, adj.; corresponding to MidLG. and Du. mager, AS. mœger, OIc. magr, adj., ‘lean’; a common Teut. word, wanting only in Goth. Considering the wide and early diffusion of the term, its similarity to Lat. macer (Ital. magro, Fr. maigre) is remarkable. While MidE. mę̂gre, E. meagre, are certainly of Rom. origin (comp. Fr. maigre), Teut. mager, like Lat. macer, ‘lean,’ and Gr. μακεδνός, ‘tall,’ μᾶκρός, ‘long,’ may be derived from an Aryan root mā̆k, ‘long, thin’; Lith. máżus, ‘little,’ may, like OHG. magar, point to a common root, magh. Yet the supposition that the Teut. cognates are derived from Low Lat. and Ital. magro is more probable; note kurz, from Lat. curtus.