*ahjaną^¹

Uncertain. Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ~ *h₃okʷ- (‘to see; eye’). Osthoff (1910: 175) compares Ancient Greek ὄσσομαι (óssomai) < PIE y-present *h₃kʷ-yé/o- (Beekes 2010: 1118; Rix et al. 2001: 297), which is semantically attractive. Formally the comparison is less secure: PIE *kʷ normally left some trace of the labial in Proto-Germanic in similar environments. Another possible derivation is from a verb meaning ‘to graze, feed’, via the same semantic route as English “ruminate” (‘chew cud’ → ‘ponder’). But Kroonen’s (2013: 6) preferred reconstruction of the grazing verb as *aiwijaną makes a connection unlikely.