pretzel English · revision 1497

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=1836}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɹɛt.səl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|de|Brezel]], [[m|de|Pretzel]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[gmh|brēzel]], [[m|gmh|prēzel]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) from [[goh|brezitella]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[la-med|*brachitellum]], presumably a biscuit baked in the shape of folded arms,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) a diminutive from [[la|bracchiātus|t=having branches like arms]], from [[m|la|bracchium|t=arm]] (see [[brace]]).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) The Latin word is from [[grc|βραχίων|tr=brakhíōn|t=upper arm]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline) The form with ''p-'' reflects the Upper German pronunciation.^(Partridge 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A crisp biscuit baked in the form of a knot and salted (1836 in Etymonline; about 1838 in Merriam-Webster; 1856 in the OED, Barnhart and the AHD, in an American newspaper).^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Pretzels were probably brought to the United States by German immigrants in the 19th century.^(MW Word Histories) The knotted shape had long been known in Germanic countries, as its appearance in a 16th-century painting of the fight between Carnival and Lent shows.^(MW Word Histories) A story credits a monk in France or northern Italy with inventing the shape.^(AHD)^(Abracadabra 2004) Anything twisted or tangled is now said to be pretzel-like, and the verb ''to pretzel'' means to twist or contort.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1836 – the biscuit (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1856 – first quotation in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A glazed, brittle [[biscuit]] or [[cracker]], salted on the outside and usually baked in the shape of a loose knot or a stick.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A larger, soft and chewy version of this, made of bread dough.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # Anything knotted, twisted or tangled.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To bend, twist or contort.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[brace]]

+ * [[bracelet]]

+ * [[brachial]]

+ * [[embrace]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}