bagel
n. countablen. a round, chewy bread roll with a hole in the middle. It is usually boiled before it is baked.
n. a dense, chewy bread roll of Jewish origin, shaped into a ring and boiled briefly in water before baking.
I usually eat a toasted bagel with cream cheese for breakfast.
The local bakery is famous for its traditional bagels, which are hand-rolled and boiled every morning.
While the classic plain bagel remains a staple, modern variations include everything from sourdough bases to sweet toppings like cinnamon and raisins.
Borrowed from Yiddish בייגל (beygl), ultimately from a diminutive of Middle High German bouc, boug- (“ring, bracelet”), from Old High German boug (“ring”), from Proto-West Germanic baug, from Proto-Germanic baugaz (“ring”). Compare obsolete English bee, Old English bēag, Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon bōg, Middle Low German bōg, Old Norse baugr. Also compare dialectal Austrian German Beugel, Beigel. See also beag.
Often served sliced and toasted with various spreads.