An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Herz

by Friedrich Kluge

Herz, neuter, ‘heart,’ from the equivalent Middle High German hërze, Old High German hërza, neuter; compare Old Saxon hęrta, Old Icelandic hjarta, Gothic haírtô, Anglo-Saxon heorte, and the equivalent English heart; the common Teutonic word for ‘heart,’ which may be traced back even to West Aryan. The Teutonic type hertôn-, from Aryan kerd (kṛd), corresponds to Latin cor, cor-dis, neuter, Greek καρδία and κῇρ for *κῆρδ, neuter, Lithuanian szirdìs, feminine, Old Slovenian srŭdĭce, neuter, Old Irish cride. The corresponding East Aryan word for ‘heart’ (Sanscrit hṛd, hṛdaya, Zend zaredaya), is usually dissociated on account of the initial sound (we should have expected Sanscrit *çṛd) from the West Aryan class.