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Hi. I’m puzzled by an apparent cognant mix up that may actually be a coincidence. Can you explain why english “deep” and german “dieb” sound alike, while german “tief” and english “thief” sound again misteriously alike? Is it that at some point long ago they mixed up words that actually where similar?
Thanks.
The semantic correspondence you identify between deep/Dieb and tief/thief is merely coincidental. The cognates underwent various sound shifts that resulted in their current apparent similarity. If you consult an etymological dictionary, you can see their respective historical developments.
thief: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=thief
deep: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=deep
Dieb: https://www.dwds.de/wb/Dieb#et-1
tief: https://www.dwds.de/wb/tief#et-1