Zopf

German

Zopf bread (2)

Etymology

From Middle High German zopf, from Old High German zoph (“lock”), from Proto-Germanic *tuppaz (“braid, pigtail, end”), from Proto-Indo-European *dumb- (“tail, rod, staff, penis”). Cognate to German Topp, Dutch top, English top.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡sɔpf/, [tsɔpf], [tsɔpɸ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Zopf m (genitive Zopfes or Zopfs, plural Zöpfe)

1. plait; pigtail; ponytail (any long bundle of hair, braided or not)
2. (baking) A plait-shaped bread made from white flour, milk, eggs, butter and yeast.

   Hyponyms: Hefezopf, Mohnzopf

   Coordinate term: Brioche

Usage notes

• Some speakers may consider it more correct to include only braided plaits in the term, but this is by no means the general rule.

Derived terms

• bezopft

Further reading

• “Zopf” in Duden online
• Zopf (Brot) on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de