An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/trendeln

by Friedrich Kluge

trendeln, trenteln, vb., ‘to dawdle, loiter,’ lit. ‘to turn, move this way and that,’ from late MidHG. tręndeln, ‘to turn,’ allied to MidHG. tręndel, ‘ball, top,’ which, like AS. tręndel, ‘sphere’ (E. trendle), and Du. omtrent, ‘towards, on, about’ (Dan. and Swed. trind, ‘round’), are connected with a root trend, ‘to move in a circle.’