An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/verlangen
verlangen, verb, ‘to claim, demand,’ from Middle High German (rare) verlangen, ‘to desire ardently,’ usually Middle High German belangen, ‘to desire, long for.’ Old Saxon langôn, Dutch verlangen, Anglo-Saxon lǫngian, English to long, show the correspondence of the Teutonic languages. The word is usually regarded as an old derivative of lang, but this is opposed by the meaning; it might be rather compared with the cognates of gelingen, the primary meaning of which is ‘to aim, strive.’ —