Krümel

German

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʁyːməl/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /ˈkʁʏməl/ (regional, including western Germany)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Krümel m (strong, genitive Krümels, plural Krümel, diminutive Krümelchen n)

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

   Synonyms: (dated; still regional) Brosame; (regional) Brösel

Declension

Declension of Krümel [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Krümel	die	Krümel
genitive	eines	des	Krümels	der	Krümel
dative	einem	dem	Krümel	den	Krümeln
accusative	einen	den	Krümel	die	Krümel

Derived terms

• krümelig
• krümeln

Further reading

• “Krümel” in Duden online
• “Krümel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache