411 REFERENCE · Wiktionary
Krümel
Reference material by Wiktionary contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
German
Etymology
Old diminutive of de Krume, which is now less common in the simplex form. An originally Central and Low German word that has widely replaced the Upper German de Brosame in standard usage. From de gmh - (Central German) gmh krume, reinforced by cognate de gml krume, gml krōme. From de gem-pro *krumô, gem-pro *krūmô fragment, crumb. Cognate with en crumb. Also related to nl 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 de Himmel, de Hammer). Pronunciations with a short vowel remain current in regional speech.
Pronunciation
de /ˈkʁyːməl/ standard
de /ˈkʁʏməl/ regional, including western Germany
de De-Krümel.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>)
Noun
m chen
crumb small broken-off piece, particularly of bread
de Brosame<q:dated; still regional> ; Brösel<q:regional>
Declension
m
Derived terms
de krümelig
de krümeln
Further reading