An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/springen
springen, verb, ‘to spring, leap, jump,’ from the equivalent Middle High German springen, Old High German springan, strong verb; corresponding to the equivalent Old Saxon springan, Dutch springen, Anglo-Saxon springan, English to spring, Gothic *spriggan. From this common Teutonic verb, to which Modern High German Sprung, masculine, (Middle High German and Old High German sprung), is allied, the cognates of Italian springare, ‘to jog, swing one's legs,’ are derived. An allied Aryan root sprgh, with a nasal exists in Greek σπέρχεσθαι ‘to hasten,’ σπερχνός, ‘hasty.’