Meanings
plural pumpernickels
- countableuncountableA German sourdough bread made from rye.
There was a cut-crystal pitcher full of water, a basket of fruit, and a big loaf of pumpernickel for them to eat.
2016, Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad, Fleet (2017), page 309Synonyms: pumpernickel bread
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA German sourdough bread made from rye.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- GermanPumpernickel
- Englishpumpernickel
From Westphalian German Pumpernickel, from Pumper (“fart”) (or a related form, such as pumpern) and Nickel (“rascal”) (from the male name Nikolaus (“Nicholas”)), possibly originating as an insult for a person or for the bread itself by outsiders. A false folk etymology claims that this comes from the phrase pain pour Nicole ("bread for Nicole"), referring to Napoleon disliking the taste so much that he thought it was fit for his horse Nicole.
More words from German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ръжен хляб
- ръжен хляб (răžen hljab)sourdough rye bread
Esperanto pumperniklo
- pumperniklosourdough rye bread
Italian pan di segale
- pan di segalesourdough rye bread
Polish pumpernikiel
- pumpernikielsourdough rye bread
Yiddish פּאָמפּערניקל
- פּאָמפּערניקל (pompernikl)sourdough rye bread
Cite this entry
pumpernickel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pumpernickel
“pumpernickel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pumpernickel. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pumpernickel,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pumpernickel.
Source: pumpernickel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.