An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/klingen

by Friedrich Kluge

klingen, verb, ‘to sound,’ from Middle High German klingen, Old High German chlingan, strong verb, ‘to sound, resound’; corresponding to Icelandic klingja, ‘to ring.’ English to clink has adopted the same final stem sound (k for g), which the substantive clank, connected with it by gradation (compare Klang and klenken), has always had. The stem, like the derivative Klang (compare also Klinge, Klinke, and klenken), is common to Teutonic, but on account of the non-permutation it cannot be cognate with Greek κλαγγή, Latin clangor. Both roots are independent onomatopoetic forms in each separate language.