pumpernickel

Where does the word "pumpernickel" come from? It comes from German Pumpernickel, and was adopted directly into English (1700s-1800s).

Pumpernickel’s story begins in German: Pumpernickel meant “a dark rye bread.” A dense, dark rye bread, its exact origin debated. It reached English by 1700s-1800s as pumpernickel. German slang, possibly 'farting goblin', for the hard-to-digest Westphalian rye bread. Today, pumpernickel means a dense, dark, coarse rye bread.

1. Stage 1 · German · 1600s Pumpernickel "a dark rye bread", a dense, dark rye bread, its exact origin debated.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1700s-1800s pumpernickel "a dense, dark, slightly sweet rye bread", German slang, possibly 'farting goblin', for the hard-to-digest Westphalian rye bread.