Where does “Laugengebäck” come from?

Laugengebäck (German) comes from German Lauge, from Middle High German louge, from Old High German louga, from Proto-West Germanic *laugu, from Proto-Germanic laugō, from Proto-Indo-European lewh₃- — to wash.

Laugengebäck (German): a small baked speciality made by immersing bread rolls in a lye solution before baking, e.g. a lye roll or a pretzel, and usually topped with coarse salt

Definitions

  1. a small baked speciality made by immersing bread rolls in a lye solution before baking, e.g. a lye roll or a pretzel, and usually topped with coarse salt

Ancestry of “Laugengebäck”, step by step

Laugengebäck traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German Lauge

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanLaugelye
2Middle High Germanlouge
3Old High Germanlougalye
4Proto-West Germanic*laugu
5Proto-Germaniclaugōbath, wash; soap, lye
6Proto-Indo-Europeanlewh₃-to wash

via German Gebäck

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanGebäckpastry
2Middle High Germangebac
Every word from Proto-Indo-European lewh₃-Every word from Proto-Germanic laugōEvery word from Proto-West Germanic *laugu