*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of kugel

Borrowed from Yiddish קוגל (kugl), from Middle High German kugel(e) (“ball”), referring to the roundish appearance of some puddings. Further etymology uncertain; see German Kugel for more.

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

Original entry ↗
noun

A traditional savoury or sweet Jewish dish consisting of a baked pudding of pasta, potatoes, or rice, with vegetables, or raisins and spices. · A wealthy young Jewish woman characterized as materialistic and selfish.

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

Borrowed from Yiddish קוגל (kugl), from Middle High German kugel(e) (“ball”), referring to the roundish appearance of some puddings. Further etymology uncertain; see German Kugel for more.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "senseno",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dish"
      },
      "expansion": "etymology 1 sense 1"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yi",
        "3": "קוגל"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Yiddish קוגל (kugl)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "kugele",
        "4": "kugel(e)",
        "t": "ball"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German kugel(e) (“ball”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Kugel"
      },
      "expansion": "German Kugel"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "serving",
      "serving#Noun"
    ],
    [
      "קוגל",
      "קוגל#Yiddish"
    ],
    [
      "kugel(e)",
      "kugele#Middle_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "Kugel",
      "Kugel#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "クーゲル",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "kūgeru"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A traditional savoury or sweet Jewish dish consisting of a baked pudding of pasta, potatoes, or rice, with vegetables, or raisins and spices.",
        "A wealthy young Jewish woman characterized as materialistic and selfish."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "South-Africa",
        "broadly",
        "derogatory",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "d92649f7691c9e8b6c21399e9bf5bcc519a0b32c4f197cb19463b713e9e8bb6a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f493500da681ea28cd2c40a78a7939c2ff76d596c1681503145d911c512be34c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 342383
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A traditional hanging ornament of German origin, made of thin glass with a metal coating, usually spherical but also produced in other shapes such as bunches of grapes and drops.

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

Borrowed from German Kugel (“solid ball”). Further identical to etymology 1 above, which see. The German term is Weihnachtskugel or Christbaumkugel, but the simplex can be used for short in context.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Borrowed-form mentionKugelde · solid ball
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "senseno",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ornament"
      },
      "expansion": "etymology 2 sense 1"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Kugel",
        "t": "solid ball"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from German Kugel (“solid ball”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hanging",
      "hang#Verb"
    ],
    [
      "Christmas tree",
      "Christmas tree"
    ],
    [
      "Kugel",
      "Kugel#German"
    ],
    [
      "Weihnachtskugel",
      "Weihnachtskugel#German"
    ],
    [
      "Christbaumkugel",
      "Christbaumkugel#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A traditional hanging ornament of German origin, made of thin glass with a metal coating, usually spherical but also produced in other shapes such as bunches of grapes and drops."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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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 kugel →

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-a3VnZWw