*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bagel

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- Proto-Indo-European *bʰowgʰ-o-sder. Proto-Germanic *baugaz Proto-West Germanic *baug Old High German boug Middle High German boucder. Yiddish בייגל (beygl)bor. English bagel Bo

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A toroidal bread roll that is boiled before it is baked. · A score of 6-0 in a set (after the shape of a bagel, which looks like a zero). · An overly materialistic and selfish young Jewish man.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- Proto-Indo-European *bʰowgʰ-o-sder. Proto-Germanic *baugaz Proto-West Germanic *baug Old High German boug Middle High German boucder. Yiddish בייגל (beygl)bor. English bagel Borrowed from Yiddish בייגל (beygl), ultimately from a diminutive of Middle High German bouc, boug- (“ring, bracelet”), from Old High German boug (“ring”), from Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz (“ring”). Compare obsolete English bee, Old English bēag, Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon bōg, Middle Low German bōg, Old Norse baugr. Also compare Austrian German Beugel and dialectal Beigel. See also beag.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionבייגלyi
  • Derivation mentionboucgmh
  • Derivation mentionbouggoh
  • Derivation mention*bauggmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*baugazgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionbeeen
  • Cognate mentionbēagang
  • Cognate mentionbāgofs
  • Cognate mentionbōgosx
  • Cognate mentionbōggml
  • Cognate mentionbaugrnon
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ-\nProto-Indo-European *bʰowgʰ-o-sder.\nProto-Germanic *baugaz\nProto-West Germanic *baug\nOld High German boug\nMiddle High German boucder.\nYiddish בייגל (beygl)bor.\nEnglish bagel\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰewgʰ-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰowgʰ-o-s\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*baugaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*baug\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old High German\", \"term\" : \"boug\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"goh\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle High German\", \"term\" : \"bouc\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmh\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Yiddish\", \"term\" : \"בייגל\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"yi\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bagel\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bagel\">"
    },
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    },
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    },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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      "expansion": "English bee"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "bēag"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bēag"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "ofs",
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      "expansion": "Old Frisian bāg"
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      "name": "cog",
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      "expansion": "Middle Low German bōg"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "non",
        "2": "baugr"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse baugr"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "de-AT",
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      },
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    },
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰowgʰ-o-s"
    ],
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      "*baugaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/baugaz"
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      "*baug",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/baug"
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      "boug",
      "boug#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "bouc",
      "bouc#Middle_High_German"
    ],
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      "בייגל",
      "בייגל#Yiddish"
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/baugaz"
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      "bee",
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      "bēag",
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    ],
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      "bāg",
      "bag#Old_Frisian"
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      "bōg",
      "bog#Old_Saxon"
    ],
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      "bōg",
      "bog#Middle_Low_German"
    ],
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      "baugr",
      "baugr#Old_Norse"
    ],
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      "Beugel",
      "Beugel#German"
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    ],
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    {
      "lang": "Chinese",
      "lang_code": "zh",
      "word": "貝果",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Traditional-Chinese"
      ],
      "roman": "bèiguǒ"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Chinese",
      "lang_code": "zh",
      "word": "贝果",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Simplified-Chinese"
      ],
      "roman": "bèiguǒ"
    },
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      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "word": "bagel",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "word": "bagel",
      "raw_tags": [
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      ]
    },
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      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "word": "bagel",
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        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "word": "Bagel",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "word": "μπέιγκελ",
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        "borrowed"
      ],
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    },
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      "lang_code": "acw",
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        "borrowed"
      ],
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    },
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      "lang_code": "id",
      "word": "bagel",
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        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "Italian",
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      "word": "bagel",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang_code": "ja",
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        "borrowed"
      ],
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    },
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      "lang": "Korean",
      "lang_code": "ko",
      "word": "베이글",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
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    },
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      "lang_code": "fa",
      "word": "بیگل",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "beygel"
    },
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      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "bagel",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "word": "бейгл",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "bejgl"
    },
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      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "word": "bagel",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
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      "lang": "Thai",
      "lang_code": "th",
      "word": "เบเกิล",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "bee-gə̂l"
    },
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      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "lang_code": "uk",
      "word": "бейґл",
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        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "bejgl"
    }
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A toroidal bread roll that is boiled before it is baked.",
        "A score of 6-0 in a set (after the shape of a bagel, which looks like a zero).",
        "An overly materialistic and selfish young Jewish man."
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Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To achieve a score of 6–0 (as the winner) in a tennis set. · To hold an opponent to a score of zero.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- Proto-Indo-European *bʰowgʰ-o-sder. Proto-Germanic *baugaz Proto-West Germanic *baug Old High German boug Middle High German boucder. Yiddish בייגל (beygl)bor. English bagel Borrowed from Yiddish בייגל (beygl), ultimately from a diminutive of Middle High German bouc, boug- (“ring, bracelet”), from Old High German boug (“ring”), from Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz (“ring”). Compare obsolete English bee, Old English bēag, Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon bōg, Middle Low German bōg, Old Norse baugr. Also compare Austrian German Beugel and dialectal Beigel. See also beag.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionבייגלyi
  • Derivation mentionboucgmh
  • Derivation mentionbouggoh
  • Derivation mention*bauggmw-pro
  • Derivation mention*baugazgem-pro
  • Cognate mentionbeeen
  • Cognate mentionbēagang
  • Cognate mentionbāgofs
  • Cognate mentionbōgosx
  • Cognate mentionbōggml
  • Cognate mentionbaugrnon
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    },
    {
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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      "name": "cog",
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      "expansion": "Old Saxon bōg"
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      "name": "cog",
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      "expansion": "Middle Low German bōg"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "non",
        "2": "baugr"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse baugr"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de-AT",
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      "expansion": "Austrian German Beugel"
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    ],
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    ],
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      "bee",
      "bee#English"
    ],
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      "bēag",
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    ],
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      "bāg",
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      ],
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bagel →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YmFnZWw