sweetbread

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈswiːtbɹɛd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈswitˌbɹɛd/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: sweet‧bread

Apparently from sweet +‎ bread, though the reason is not immediately evident. Possibly connected with Dutch zwezerik, whose etymology is also unclear.^[1]

sweetbread (plural sweetbreads)

1. The pancreas or thymus gland of an animal, especially a lamb or calf, as food.
   • 1909, Eva Greene Fuller, The Up-To-Date Sandwich Book: 400 Ways to Make a Sandwich, page 97:

     SWEETBREAD SANDWICH: Cook sweetbreads until tender. When cold, remove skin, chop fine, season with salt and pepper, add one cup of finely chopped celery, and a dash of mayonnaise dressing; spread on thin slices of lightly buttered white bread. Cover with another slice and garnish with an olive.

   • 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 177:

     The pancreas of an animal when cooked for consumption is known as a sweetbread.

2. Any of various other glands used as food, including the parotid gland, sublingual glands, ovaries, and testicles.

• (pancreas): belly sweetbread, gutbread, heart sweetbread, stomach sweetbread
• (thymus gland): gullet sweetbread, neck sweetbread, throat sweetbread

Compound of sweet +‎ bread.

sweetbread (plural sweetbreads)

1. A sweetened type of bread.

• “sweetbread”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.