From OE 'hȳdan' (to conceal), from PIE *kewdʰ- — entirely unrelated to the homograph 'hide' meaning animal skin.
To put or keep out of sight; to conceal from the view or knowledge of others; to conceal oneself.
From Old English 'hȳdan' meaning 'to hide, conceal, preserve,' from West Germanic *hūdijan, from PIE root *kewdʰ- (to hide, conceal). The same PIE root may have produced Greek 'keuthein' (to hide, conceal) and Welsh 'cuddio' (to hide). The word is unrelated to 'hide' meaning animal skin, which comes from a different root
The two English words spelled 'hide' — the verb meaning 'to conceal' and the noun meaning 'animal skin' — are completely unrelated. The skin word comes from Proto-Germanic *hūdiz (skin, covering), related to Latin 'cutis' (skin) and the English word 'cuticle.' The chance convergence of two different PIE roots