Brosame

• Brosam, Brosamen

Borrowed from Middle High German brosem, broseme or brosme, from Old High German brōsama or brōsma. There is a connection to Old English brosnian (“to fall apart, to foul”). Therefore, originally, Brosame meant broken off piece.^[1] Not related to Samen (“seed”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʁoːzaˑmə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Bro‧sa‧me

Brosame f (genitive Brosame, plural Brosamen)

1. (dated or regional, southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland) crumb

   Synonym: Krümel

   Für ihn blieben nur die Brosamen übrig.

   Only the crumbs were left for him.

   • 1994, Ursula Assaf-Nowak, Der Vorbote, Gleichnisse und Gedichte, translation of Khalil Gibran, The Forerunner, 1920, →ISBN

     Seine Liebe ist die eines Anspruchslosen, der sich mit Brosamen zufriedengibt, selbst wenn er an einer königlichen Tafel sitzt.

     It is the love of a needy one, who picks crumbs even as he sits at kingly feasts.

• In contemporary German the derivative Brösel (an old diminutive) is more common (but also regionally restricted).

• Brösel

• Brot, Same

• “GB11522” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Brosame” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Brosame” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• Notes:

• “Brosame” in Duden online