Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pretzel” come from?

Pretzel comes from German Brezel, from Middle High German brēzel, from Old High German brezitella, from Latin bracchium meaning arm, from Ancient Greek βραχίων, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus meaning short.

pretzel (English): A toasted bread or cracker usually in the shape...

Definitions

  1. A toasted bread or cracker usually in the shape...

Ancestry of “pretzel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanPretzel—
2GermanBrezelpretzel
3Middle High Germanbrēzel—
4Old High Germanbreztella—
5Latinbracchiatushave branches like arms
6Latinbracchiumforearm; arm; limb of an animal
7Ancient Greekβραχίωνthe arm, the shoulder; comparative degree of...
8Ancient Greekβραχύςshort, brief; short, small, little; few
9Proto-Indo-Europeanmréǵʰusshort; brief
10Proto-Indo-Europeanmreǵʰ-short

Words derived from “pretzel”

  • pretzelled
  • pretzelosity
  • minipretzel
  • プレッツェル
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- →