An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/König
König, m., ‘king,’ from the equiv. MidHG. künic, künc (g), OHG. chunig, chuning; corresponding to OSax. cuning, AS. cyning (cyng,) E. king, Du. koning, OIc. konungr; a common Teut. term, wanting only in Goth. The high antiquity of the term is attested by its being borrowed at an early period by Finn. and Esth. as kuningas, ‘king,’ by OSlov. as kŭnęgŭ, kŭnęzĭ, ‘prince,’ Lith. as kùningas, ‘lord, pastor’ (Lett. kungs, ‘lord’). The word may be most probably explained by connecting it with Goth. kuni (gen. kunjis), OHG. chunni, MidHG. künne, AS. cynn, ‘family.’ Regarding -ing as a patronymic (AS. Wôdening, ‘son of Woden’), the meaning would be ‘a man of family,’ i.e, of a distinguished family, ‘ex nobilitate ortus’ (Tacitus, Germ. vii.). This simple and satisfactory explanation is opposed by the fact that in OTeut. kuni- alone means ‘king,’ which has been preserved especially in compounds such as AS. cyne-helm, ‘king's helmet,’ i.e. ‘crown,’ cynestôl, ‘king's seat,’ i.e. ‘throne,’ cynerice, equiv. to OHG chunirîhhi, ‘kingdom,’ &c.; the simple form is perhaps found only in OIc. poetry as konr (i-stem), ‘man of noble birth, relative of the king.’ In tracing the evolution in meaning, this fact can no more be rejected than the former; in this case too König would contain the essential idea of distinguished birth, but perhaps more accurately ‘the son of a man of distinguished birth’; comp. Fr. and E. prince, signifying both Prinz (male member of the royal family) and Fürst (a sovereign ruler, and also a title next above Count). The etymological connection between E. king and queen must be discarded, since the latter signified ‘woman’ generally; yet it is of some value in illustrating the development of meaning in the word König; AS. cwên is espec. ‘the noble lady.’