Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pumpernickel

/ˈpʌmpɚˌnɪkl̩/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.89 in modern English

Syllables: pumper-nick-el
IPA: /ˈpʌmpɚˌnɪkl̩/

24

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A German sourdough bread made from rye.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"There was a cut-crystal pitcher full of water, a basket of fruit, and a big loaf of pumpernickel for them to eat."

Etymology

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.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpʌmpɚˌnɪkl̩/

Usage

Inflected Forms

pumpernickels (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

white wheat rye white bread wheat bread rye bread

Synonyms

pumpernickel bread black bread

Questions

How do you pronounce pumpernickel?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpʌmpɚˌnɪkl̩/.
What does pumpernickel mean?: A German sourdough bread made from rye.
Where does pumpernickel come from?: 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.

How to pronounce pumpernickel

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pumpernickel”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpʌmpɚˌnɪkl̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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