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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pum·per·nick·el

Audio Help [puhm-per-nik-uh

l] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a coarse, dark, slightly sour bread made of unbolted rye.

[Origin: 1750–60; < G Pumpernickel orig., an opprobrious name for anyone considered disagreeable, equiv. to pumper(n) to break wind + Nickel hypocoristic from of Nikolaus Nicholas (cf. nickel); presumably applied to the bread from its effect on the digestive system

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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pumpernickel

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pum·per·nick·el Audio Help (pŭm'pər-nĭk'əl) Pronunciation Key
n. A dark, sourish bread made from whole, coarsely ground rye.

[German, probably from dialectal, term of abuse : obsolete Pumper, breaking wind (from dialectal pumpern, to break wind, from Middle High German, to knock, frequentative of pumpen, of imitative origin) + German Nickel, goblin; see nickel.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pumpernickel

"dark rye bread," 1756, from Ger. (Westphalian dialect) Pumpernickel (1663), originally an abusive nickname for a stupid person, from pumpern "to break wind" + Nickel "goblin, lout, rascal," from proper name Niklaus. An earlier Ger. name for it was krankbrot, lit. "sick-bread."

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