An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Pegel
Pegel, masculine, ‘water-mark,’ Modern High German only, from the similar Low German form; compare Dutch pegel, ‘gauge-mark, standard,’ and peil, ‘gauge-mark, scale on which the height of the water is marked.’ These words are derived, like Anglo-Saxon pœgel, English pail, from a Teutonic root pag, which also appears in Alemannian pfeχte, pfeχe, ‘to gauge.’