Pumpernickel an old Bavarian term for "hard", either referring to the process used to grind the grain into flour, or the density of the final bread product. According to "Langenscheidts Taschen Wörterbücher" (1956), it refers to a form of "pumping work". The philologist Johann Christoph Adelung states that the word has an origin in the Germanic vernacular where was a New High German synonym for being flatulent, and was a form of the name Nicholas, commonly associated with a goblin or devil (e.g. "Old Nick", a familiar name for Satan), or more generally for a malevolent spirit or demon. Hence, "pumpernickel"
What Love Is Made Of three minutes and fifty-five seconds (3:55), "What Love Is Made Of" is an uptempo dance and house track that has been described as "rave-y" and "trance-y". Its instrumentation contains the sounds of pianos and synthesizers. Jordan Sargent of "Spin" observed that it continued the musical style first introduced in Katy's 2012 extended play (EP), "Danger EP", which was "straight-forward house". Idolator's Sam Lansky compared her performance in the song to recording artist Siobhán Donaghy. Critical response to "What Love Is Made Of" was generally positive: most critics noted Katy's vocal performance and commended its sound. Siân Rowe from "NME" was