What does the German word lebkuchen mean?

Answer 1

The history behind this word is much argued and essentially seems unclear. However, everyone seems to agree on its relative meaning, which is a cookie or cake representing life. People often say it's the old version of gingerbread, but the etymology of the word has nothing to do with gingerbread. The cookies and cakes called lebkuchen, were made with ginger, honey and nuts (there are other common ingredients too - but they often vary slightly)

As far as I can tell, the argued origins of the word come from

Folk: leben = life

Folk: lieb = body

Latin: libum = flat bread

German: laib = loaf