An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/kraft

by Friedrich Kluge

kraft, prep. ‘in virtue of,’ prop. dat. sing. of the preceding word, originally combined with the preps. aus or in. MidHG. kraft, with the gen. of a noun, is often simply a pleonasm for the noun itself — hôher wunne kraft for hôhiu wunne, ‘great bliss’; ûȥ zornes kraft, ‘in anger.’