Since the publication, in 1879, of Bechtel's Über die Bezeichnungen der sinnliehen Wahrnehmungen little has been done in this field. In fact, the ground there broken seems to have become fallow again. Perhaps this is because the book is based on a now antiquated phonetic system. But, in the main, the principles there advocated are none the less true, even though many of the etymologies are no longer tenable. This paper is intended, therefore, to rehabilitate these principles and supply some deficiencies.