Etymology From Old High German azzen, etzen, ezzen, form Proto-Germanic *atjaną. Cognate with German ätzen, Dutch etten, Faroese etja, West Frisian ettjen. Verb etze (Uri) to graze (eat grass from a pasture) References Abegg, Emil, (1911) Die Mundart von Urseren (Beiträge zur Schweizerdeutschen Grammatik. IV.) [The Dialect of Urseren], Frauenfeld, Switzerland: Huber & Co., page 14.