'bagel' originates from Yiddish, specifically the word 'beygl', where the root 'beyg-' meant 'to bend' or 'to curve' (referring to its ring shape).

'bagel' changed from the Yiddish word 'beygl' (itself from Middle High German 'bügel' or 'beugel', meaning 'ring' or 'bracelet') and eventually became the modern English word 'bagel' through borrowing into American English in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Initially, it meant 'a ring' or 'ring-shaped object', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'a ring-shaped bread roll'.