Brezel

See also: brezel

German

Laugenbrezel

Zuckerbrezel

Alternative forms

Brätzel, Pretzel
Bretzel (Switzerland)
Breze, Brezen, Brezn (Southern Germany, Austria)

Etymology

From Middle High German brēzel, from Old High German brezitella, from Vulgar Latin *brāchiātellus (“small cake”), from Latin bracchiātus (“have branches like arms”), from bracchium (“arm”) + -ātus.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbreːtsəl/, [ˈbʁeːt͡sl̩]
Audio (file)

Noun

Brezel f (genitive Brezel, plural Brezeln) or
Brezel (in Austria and certain other regions) n (strong, genitive Brezels, plural Brezel)

pretzel; any kind of baked good in the form of a loose knot
Das alte Zunftzeichen der Bäcker ist die Brezel.
The ancient guild-symbol of the baker is a pretzel.

Usage notes

Mostly feminine, but neuter in some regions including Austria.

Declension

Declension of Brezel [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Brezel	die	Brezeln
genitive	einer	der	Brezel	der	Brezeln
dative	einer	der	Brezel	den	Brezeln
accusative	eine	die	Brezel	die	Brezeln

or

Declension of Brezel [neuter (in Austria and certain other regions), strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Brezel	die	Brezel
genitive	eines	des	Brezels	der	Brezel
dative	einem	dem	Brezel	den	Brezeln
accusative	ein	das	Brezel	die	Brezel

Derived terms

Fastenbrezel
Laugenbrezel
Martinsbrezel
Salzbrezel
Zuckerbrezel

Descendants

→ English: pretzel
→ French: bretzel
→ Polish: precel
→ Russian: бре́цель (brécelʹ)