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German-English Translation Blog
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Sunday, March 14, 2010 04:00 pm |
Honigkuchenpferd (“Honey Cake Horse”)
I recently came across this word again, which according to most dictionaries
means “to grin like a Cheshire cat.” Having always wondered about the
etymology of this word, I asked a relative from Northern Germany how
“honey cake horse” came to be associated with smiling. She said it must
be a Bavarian word. I hadn’t realized that honey cake is a type of gingerbread. The
Wikipedia explains that honey cake was the forerunner of today’s Lebkuchen and that
“its history can be traced back to the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans. They
believed that honey, the only sweetener widely available to them, was a gift of the deities and
had magical and healing powers. Honey cakes were also worn as a talisman in battle or as
protection against evil spirits.” Teutonic peoples used honey cakes for the same purpose especially around the winter solstice, which might be the reason Lebkuchen became
associated with Christmas. Next time I come across the word, I will think of the
rocking-horse-shaped gingerbread cookie with its big frosty smile.
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