köken: From Middle Dutch coorts, corts, curts. Related to Middle Low German korts (“fever”), possibly abbreviated from a phrase containing korts (“short”), from Middle High German kurz. An indirect relationship with kool (“coal”) has been suggested, via Proto-Indo-European *ǵwelH- (“burn, shine”); compare Sanskrit ज्वलति (jválati, “burn brightly, blaze”) and जूर्ति (jūrti, “fever”). But this is quite…