Quote It is probably related to the Old High German verb weibon "to move to and fro", that is preserved in the military rank (German) Feldwebel or (Swiss) Weibel "sarge, staff sergeant".Upon reading this, I would like to add that in Dutch, we have the cognate
weifelen (spelled as
weyfelen in older times) meaning "to hesitate". The meaning is technically figurative, as it refers to how a person goes back and forth ("to and fro") between conflicting feelings. The Dutch verb
wuiven meaning "to wave" is also related.
• weifelen:
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https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/weifelen (in English)
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http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/weifelen (in Dutch)
• wuiven:
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https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wuiven (in English)
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http://etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/wuiven (in Dutch)
Forchta in biuonga quamon ouer mi, in bethecoda mi thuisternussi. In ic quad: "uuie sal geuan mi fetheron also duuon, in ic fliugon sal in raston sal?"