a hard ring-shaped bread roll, characteristic of Jewish baking
2. tennis slang
a set in which the loser does not win a single game
verbWord forms: -els, -elling, -elledWord forms: US-els, -eling or -eled
3. (transitive) tennis slang
to win a set against (an opponent) without losing a single game
Word origin
C20: from Yiddish beygel, ultimately from Old High German boug ring; senses 2 and 3 referring to the resemblance of the figure ‘0’ to the hole ina bagel
bagel in American English
(ˈbeɪgəl)
noun
a chewy bread roll made of yeast dough twisted into a small doughnutlike shape, cooked in simmering water, then baked
Word origin
NE Yiddish beygl < MHG *bougel > Austrian Ger beugel, kind of croissant; akin to Ger bügel, stirrup, orig. ring < beugen, to bend: for IE base see bow1