Pickle
/ˈpɪk.əl/noun
A food preserved in brine or vinegar; also, a difficult or awkward situation.
Did you know?The word’s history is messy: English pickle likely came through Middle Dutch or Low German from a word for a piquant sauce or brine, showing how preservation, flavor, and language all got soaked together.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pik-
“to prick, be sharp”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*pikō
“pitch, resin; something sticky/sharp”
Middle Dutch / Low German
Germanic
pikel / pekel
“brine, pickle, spicy sauce or seasoning”
15th Century
English
pikel / pickle
“a spicy sauce, brine, or relish used for preserving food”
Modern English
English
pickle
“food preserved in vinegar or brine; by extension, an awkward situation”