An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Kleinod

by Friedrich Kluge

Kleinod, neuter, ‘jewel,’ from Middle High German kleinôt, neuter, with the variants kleinœte, kleinœde, neuter, literally ‘fine, pretty thing,’ then ‘costliness, ornament,’ not recorded in Old High German; ôt is a suffix (see Heimat, Armut, and Einöde). Hence the derivative has retained another feature of the earlier varied senses.