Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
Definition of pumpernickel - 4 dictionary results

pum⋅per⋅nick⋅el

  [puhm-per-nik-uhl]
Use pumpernickel in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pumpernickel
pum·per·nick·el   (pŭm'pər-nĭk'əl)   
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Pumpernickel

Pump"er*nick`el\, n. [G.] A sort of bread, made of unbolted rye, which forms the chief food of the Westphalian peasants. It is acid but nourishing.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see pumpernickel on Thesaurus | Reference