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pretzel

(pret′səl)

☆

noun

a usually hard, brittle biscuit made from a slender roll of dough heavily sprinkled with salt and typically baked in the form of a loose knot or as a stick

Origin: Ger brezel < OHG brezitella < ML *brachiatellum, dim. of *brachiatum, biscuit baked in form of crossed arms < L brachium, an arm: see brace

See pretzel in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A glazed, brittle biscuit that is usually salted on the outside and baked in the form of a loose knot or a stick.

Origin:

Origin: German Brezel, Pretzel

Origin: , from Middle High German brēzel, prēzel

Origin: , from Old High German brezitella

Origin: , from Medieval Latin *brāchitellum

Origin: , diminutive of Latin bracchiātus, branched

Origin: , from bracchium, arm

Origin: , from Greek brakhīōn, upper arm; see mregh-u- in Indo-European roots

Word History: The German word Brezel or Pretzel, which was borrowed into English (being first recorded in American English in 1856) goes back to the assumed Medieval Latin word *brāchitellum. This would accord with the story that a monk living in France or northern Italy first created the knotted shape of a pretzel, even though this type of biscuit had been enjoyed by the Romans. The monk wanted to symbolize arms folded in prayer, hence the name derived from Latin bracchiātus, “having branches,” itself from bracchium, “branch, arm.”

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