An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Zweifel

An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, Z (1891)
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis
Zweifel
Friedrich Kluge2508820An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, Z — Zweifel1891John Francis Davis

Zweifel, m., ‘doubt, uncertainty,’ from MidHG. zwîvel, m., ‘uncertainty, distrust, fickleness, perfidy, despair,’ OHG. zwîfal, m., ‘uncertainty, apprehension, despair,’ Comp. Goth. tweifls, m., ‘doubt,’ OSax. twîfal, Du. twijfel. The following forms also occur, OHG. zwîfo, zwëho, m., ‘doubt’ (equiv. to OSax. twëho, AS. tweó, ‘doubt’), and OIc. týja (base twiwjôn), ‘doubt.’ All are based on a pre-Teut. dweiq (dwī̆p), ‘to doubt.’ — Allied to zweifeln, vb., ‘to doubt, suspect,’ from MidHG. zwîvelen, OHG. zwîfalôn, ‘to waver, doubt’; comp. OSax. twîflôn, ‘to waver,’ Dan. tvivle, Du. twijfelen, ‘to doubt.’ These cognates are unquestionably connected with zwei (comp. Gr. δοιή, ‘doubt,’ Sans. dvayá, ‘falseness’); the formation of the noun is, however, not clear (see Zweig and zwie-).