Pinkel is a term with multiple distinct meanings, primarily as a German/Dutch surname, a type of German sausage, and a German word.
1. Surname
Pinkel is a Dutch and North German surname, probably a variant of Pingel. According to the Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford University Press), it is recorded in German-speaking regions of Europe, particularly Germany and Austria. The name is relatively rare; the 2010 U.S. Census recorded 109 individuals bearing the name, ranking it the 150,452nd most common surname nationwide.
Notable people with the surname Pinkel:
- Donald Pinkel (1926–2022) – American physician and pioneering pediatric oncologist who developed the first curative multi-drug therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
- Gary Pinkel (born 1952) – American college football coach who led the University of Missouri Tigers and the University of Toledo Rockets; inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
- Sheila Pinkel (born 1941) – American visual artist, photographer, activist, and educator; Professor Emerita of Art at Pomona College.
Etymology: The surname has been interpreted in several ways:
- As an occupational nickname for a blacksmith, derived from Middle High German finken ("to make sparks").
- As a habitational name referring to a place called Pinkel in Westphalia.
- Among Ashkenazic Jews, as an ornamental name derived from Yiddish finkl ("sparkle").
2. Food (German Sausage)
Pinkel is a smoked Grützwurst (groat sausage) eaten mainly in northwest Germany, especially the region around Oldenburg, Bremen, Osnabrück, East Frisia, and Friesland. It consists of bacon, groats of oats or barley, beef suet, pig lard, onions, salt, pepper, and other spices. It is traditionally filled into pig intestines and is often served with kale (Grünkohl) in the dish Grünkohl mit Pinkel.
Etymology: The word pinkel is East Frisian. The sausage name is thought to derive from pinkelt, meaning "little finger." Alternatively, it could refer to the homonymous verb meaning "to drip," referring to fat dripping from the sausage during smoking.
3. German Language
- Verb form: pinkel is the first-person singular present and singular imperative form of the German verb pinkeln ("to urinate").
- Noun: Pinkel (masculine, in German slang) can mean "dude" or "stuck-up prig" (jemand, der sich für vornehm hält).
