Covrigi is the plural form of the Romanian word covrig.

[1] The word kovrig is a loanword from the Old Bulgarian kovrigъ.

[1][2][3] Cognate words are found in other Slavic languages, e.g. Russian kovriga (коврига) meaning "round bread" or korovai.

[2] The Old East Slavic kovriga is mentioned in the Primary Chronicle under year 1074.

Although legend has it that covrigi were introduced by Greek merchants to Buzău in the 19th century to increase consumption of their wine,[5] their similarity to German pretzels and to sfințișori, another Romanian pastry, suggest a much earlier origin.