An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Mistel

by Friedrich Kluge

Mistel, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German mistel, Old High German mistil, masculine, ‘mistletoe’: compare Anglo-Saxon mistel, English mistle, Old Icelandic mistelteinn, ‘mistletoe.’ An Old Teutonic word not derived from the equivalent Latin viscus, and scarcely allied to English mist (see Mist). Origin obscure.