FromMiddle High Germangeræte(“consultation; equipment”), fromOld High Germangirāti(“advice, consultation”), derived fromrāt(“advice, council”), whence modern GermanRat. The semantic development can, theoretically, be explained internally through a path “consultation” → “precaution” → “equipment”. However, the word has without doubt been influenced by another term, at hand inOld High Germangireiti(“stuff, equipment”), which is related withbereit(“ready”). Both became homophonous in manyLow andCentral German dialects; compareMiddle Low Germangerēde(“consultation; equipment”), which can be cognate with either Old High German word. The Middle High German sources show that the sense “equipment” did indeed spread from the north. Cognate withSwedishgeråd. CompareDutchgerei andgereedschap.
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Gerät n (strong,genitiveGerätesorGeräts,pluralGeräte)