From Middle High German gesinde, from Old High German gasindi, gisindi, gisindo, from Proto-Germanic *gasinþiją, from the root *senþ-, sinþ- "to go, travel; seek, aim", from Proto-Indo-European *sent- (“to head for, go”). More at sīþ, *sandijaną. A neuter collective to the masculine gasint (archaic modern German Gesind (“wayfellow, fellow traveller; follower”)).
Cognate with Old English ġesīþ, Old Saxon gisîthi, Dutch gezin.