An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Garbe

by Friedrich Kluge

Garbe (1.), feminine, ‘sheaf,’ from the equivalent Middle High German garbe, Old High German garba, feminine; Corresponding to Old Saxon garba, Dutch garf, ‘sheaf’; literally ‘handful, manipulum.’ Hence from the Sanscrit root gṛbh, ‘to lay hold of, seize,’ grâbhá, ‘handful;’ Lettic grabas, feminine plural, ‘a bundle hastily collected,’ Lithuanian grĕpti, ‘to seize,’ and grópti, ‘to snatch.’ In the High German dialects grappen, grapsen, grippen, &c., are also allied to the Aryan root ghṛbh; so too Dutch grabbelen, English to grabble. The cognates found their way into Romance (French gerbe, feminine, ‘sheaf’).

Garbe (2.), (the same is Schafgarbe, ‘milfoil’), feminine, ‘millefolium,’ from the equivalent Middle High German garwe, Old High German garwa, garawa, feminine, ‘millefolium’; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon gearewe, feminine, English yarrow, Dutch gerw, ‘millefolium.’ Whether it is related to gar (Teutonic garwa-) is uncertain.