sherbet

[shur-bit]

noun

1. Sometimes sherbert a frozen dessert made with sweetened fruit juice or purée, typically containing milk or cream, with egg white or gelatin often added.

2. a traditional Middle Eastern drink made of sweetened fruit juice diluted with water and ice.

3. Chiefly British.,  a sweetened powder moistened in the mouth and eaten as a fizzy confection or mixed with water to make a fizzy drink.

sherbet

/ ˈʃɜːbət /

noun

1. a fruit-flavoured slightly effervescent powder, eaten as a sweet or used to make a drink

   lemon sherbet

2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): sorbet. a water ice made from fruit juice, egg whites, milk, etc

3. slang,  beer

4. a cooling Oriental drink of sweetened fruit juice

5. informal,  a euphemistic word for shit

Word History and Origins

Origin of sherbet¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Turkish şerbet, from Persian sharbat, from Arabic sharbah “a drink,” from shariba “to drink”

Word History and Origins

Origin of sherbet¹

C17: from Turkish şerbet, from Persian sharbat, from Arabic sharbah drink, from shariba to drink

Example Sentences

I side-eyed Sabre’s prices, then ordered a cheap set with cheerful plastic handles in various sherbet hues.

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It was incredibly sweet and slightly sour and fruity, reminding me of lemon sherbet.

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Mandalay Beach, also known as Oxnard State Beach, has sherbet sunsets over its dunes.

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Then came the Romans who brought hard durum wheat, and the Arabs who introduced sherbet, couscous and eggplant, not to mention a penchant for stuffed foods, pistachios and spices like saffron and cinnamon.

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When Miss World became popular in India, it also brought a different idea of beauty - of tiny sculpted waists, sherbet gowns and a heavily contoured face.

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Related Words

• frozen yogurt 
• sorbet