Krümel

Meaning

crumb (small broken-off piece, particularly of bread)

Concepts

crumb

breadcrumb

fragment

small crumb

splinter

broken pieces

Synonyms

Brösel

Brosame

Splitter

Bröckchen

Faser

Fragment

Krume

Scherbe

Fädchen

Brosamen

Bruchstück

Translations

briciola

miette

kruimel

migalha

kırıntı

engruna

miga

ekmek kırıntısı

mica

morzel

migaja

broodkruimel

mollica

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkʁyːməl/

Etymology

Cognate with English: crumb

Cognate with Dutch: kruim

In summary

Old diminutive of Krume, which is now less common in the simplex form. An originally Central and Low German word that has widely replaced the Upper German Brosame in standard usage. From Middle High German (Central German) krume, reinforced by cognate Middle Low German krume, krōme. From Proto-Germanic *krumô, *krūmô (“fragment, crumb”). Cognate with English crumb. Also related to Dutch kruim, which goes back to a variant with an original long vowel, however.
The modern long vowel in Krümel is due to the levelling effect of Krume. The expected form would be *Krümmel since following -mel, -mer regularly blocked vowel lengthening in open syllables (compare Himmel, Hammer). Pronunciations with a short vowel remain current in regional speech.