An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Schleie

by Friedrich Kluge

Schleie, feminine, ‘tench,’ from the equivalent Middle High German slîe, Old High German slîo, masculine; corresponding to Anglo-Saxon slîw, masculine, ‘tench’; Gothic *sleiws, masculine, or rather *sleiwa, masculine, is wanting. Perhaps the fish was so named from its slimy scales, so that Schleim may be allied.