Etymology Map
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Pickle

3 stages from Middle Dutch to English.

Today it means a vegetable preserved in brine or vinegar; a difficult situation

Where does the word "pickle" come from? It comes from Middle Dutch pekel, passing through Middle English before entering English (1560s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
pekel
Middle Dutch · medieval
"brine"
a salty brine for preserving fish, vital to the Dutch herring trade
2
Stage 2 of 3
pikel
Middle English · 1400s
"a sauce; brine"
first a spicy sauce, then preserved vegetables
3
Stage 3 of 3
pickle
English · 1560s
"preserved food; a predicament"
'in a pickle', in trouble, borrowed from a Dutch phrase meaning soaked in brine
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Read the full story

Pickle’s story begins in Middle Dutch: pekel meant “brine.” A salty brine for preserving fish, vital to the Dutch herring trade. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in Middle English as pikel. First a spicy sauce, then preserved vegetables. It reached English by 1560s as pickle. 'in a pickle', in trouble, borrowed from a Dutch phrase meaning soaked in brine. Today, pickle means a vegetable preserved in brine or vinegar; a difficult situation.