Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A dark, sourish bread made from whole, coarsely ground rye.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A kind of coarse bread made from unbolted rye, used especially in Westphalia.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A sort of bread, made of unbolted rye, which forms the chief food of the Westphalian peasants. It is acid but nourishing.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A German sourdough bread made from rye

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun bread made of coarse rye flour

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[German, probably from dialectal, term of abuse : obsolete Pumper, breaking wind (from dialectal pumpern, to break wind, from Middle High German, to knock, frequentative of pumpen, of imitative origin) + German Nickel, goblin; see nickel.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Pumpernickel.

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Examples

  • Kalamata olives are "freeze dried" for 18 hours, then crumbled; pumpernickel is roasted in the oven and then blended down; and hazelnuts are mixed with flour, beer and butter to form a paste, oven-dried for 24 hours, and then blitzed into fine powder.

    'Flower Pot,' at The Krug Room Amy Ma 2010

  • More recently, my son now 6 has found the word "pumpernickel" to be very interesting.

    On be having DC 2009

  • We could not even procure white bread, simply the black 'pumpernickel' bread so much prized in Germany.

    A Girl's Ride in Iceland George Harley 1862

  • I was thinking maybe king arthurs "pumpernickel" flour might be like this.

    The Fresh Loaf 2008

  • I was thinking maybe king arthurs "pumpernickel" flour might be like this.

    The Fresh Loaf 2008

  • I was thinking maybe king arthurs "pumpernickel" flour might be like this.

    The Fresh Loaf 2008

  • Try the yellowtail ceviche with radish, fennel and cucumber, served on pumpernickel toast with flying-fish roe and wasabi cream.

    Early Risers, and More Kimberly Chou 2010

  • Jude Domski for The Wall Street Journal Yellowtail ceviche with radish, fennel and cucumber, shown here, is served on pumpernickel toast with flying fish roe and wasabi cream.

    An Edible Legacy in Brooklyn 2010

  • My morning pumpernickel toast comes with a nifty fairy: she wears patterned tights, slouchy boots, has blue hair and can whistle anything.

    Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » SINK METAPHORS, TOAST FAIRIES, AND WRITING 2010

  • All the rooms smelled like pumpernickel bread, but the closer you got to the kitchen, you came up against distinct portobello, fiery green pepper with red moles, and onions that made your eyes feel like the end of a funeral.

    Sphynx Clara Michael Seidel 2012

Comments

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  • I've once heard a story about the origin of this name. Apparently Napoleons horse was called Nickel. When the French soldiers marched into Germany during the Napoleonic wars and came into contact with German rye bread, some said that this bread wouldn't even be 'bon pour Nickel', not even good enough for Nickel.

    I have no idea whether this story is true, though...

    January 16, 2008

  • It's not. It was made up at a bar by a radio guy who later reported it as the true etymology. After being confronted and asked for proof, he confessed.

    January 17, 2008

  • They had this really catchy song about pumpernickel bread on Blues Clues.

    My younger sisters were watching it, not me. :P

    April 20, 2008

  • Here's the etymology I've always enjoyed for the word:

    German, probably from a dialectal term of abuse: obsolete Pumper, breaking wind (from dialectal pumpern, to break wind, from Middle High German, to knock) + German Nickel, goblin.

    So... Pumpernickel could be translated as "fart goblin."

    April 25, 2008

  • I love this! I'm going to eat only pumpernickel bread from now on, just so I can say "fart goblin."

    April 25, 2008

  • You know, I used to like pumpernickel bread....

    April 25, 2008

  • Just walk into the deli and say: "I'll have a lettuce, tomato and onion on goblin-fart, please."

    April 25, 2008

  • Citation on cruller.

    September 29, 2008

  • לחם כהה עשוי מקמח שיפון מלא

    Eating Animals

    June 28, 2010