sherbet

[ shur-bit ]

noun

1. Sometimes sher·bert []. 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. a water ice made from fruit juice, egg whites, milk, etc Also called (in Britain and certain other countries)sorbet
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

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

From Los Angeles Times

But Sherbet said his office has already taken action on most of the residency-based challenges through routine voter list maintenance, with some voters being placed on a “suspense” list until they confirm their address.

From Salon

“The vast majority of them are challenging the residence of a registered voter,” said Bruce Sherbet, Collin County elections administrator.

From Salon

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

From Los Angeles Times

Armed with a three-and-a-half-octave range, her voice was “as cool as sherbet, creamy, delicately colored, mildly flavored,” as Ariel Swartley wrote in Rolling Stone magazine in 1979.

From New York Times

Related Words

• frozen yogurt
• sorbet