An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Bretzel

by Friedrich Kluge

Bretzel, m., f., ‘cracknell,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brezel, also breze, OHG. brezitella and brezita (bergita); allied to Bav. die bretzen, Suab. brätzg, brätzet, Alsat. brestell. The Suab. form as well as OHG. brizzilla presupposes a Teut. ë; but the vowel sounds of the remaining forms are uncertain. It is most frequently referred to MidLat. brâcéllum (whence brăzil, and by mutation brĕzil’), or rather brâchiólum, ‘little arm’ (the different kinds of pastry are named from their shape; comp. e.g. MidHG. krâpfe, ‘hook, hook-shaped pastry’); MidHG. brœzte would be brâchitum. From OHG. brézitella the ModHG. Bretstelle (Strassb.) was produced, while breztella was resolved by a wrong division of syllables into Bret-s-telle; thus we deduce In ModHG. Tapfe from Fußtapfe, i.e. Fuß-stapfe. The absence of the word in Rom. (yet comp. Ital. bracciatello) seems to militate against the derivation of the whole of this class from Lat. bracchium. In that case OHG. bergita, brezita, might perhaps be connected with AS. byrgan, ‘to eat,’ OIr. bargen, ‘cake.’