zwieback

See also: Zwieback

English

From German Zwieback, from zwie- (“twi-, two-”) + backen (“to bake”) (i.e “twice-baked”), a calque of Italian biscotto (but not to be confused with it).^[1]

zwieback (countable and uncountable, plural zwiebacks)

A form of rusk, usually sweetened bread enriched with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp; considered easy to digest and therefore given to the ill and used as a teething food for toddlers.
- Ogden Nash, Adventures Of Isabel
  She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,
  And when it was gone, she cut the giant's head off.

^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “zwieback”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.; though it gives Zweiback as the source.