An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Lunge

by Friedrich Kluge

Lunge, feminine, ‘lung,’ from the equivalent Middle High German lunge, Old High German lungun (plural lungunnâ), feminine; corresponding to the equivalent Gothic *luggô, Old Icelandic lunga, Anglo-Saxon lungen, English lungs (properly plural on account of the two lobes), Dutch long. Some etymologists connect these cognates with the Old Teutonic root ling, ‘to be light,’ which appears in leicht and gelingen. Compare Portuguese leve, ‘lung,’ from Latin levis, ‘light,’ English lights from light, Russian legkoe from legkij.