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. See shit
   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

The two have a terrible row about orange sherbet, and Don leaves Megan in a Howard Johnson parking lot.

From The Daily Beast

But the beauty of it is that it has the best qualities of both desserts: creamy like a sherbet, refreshing like a sorbet.

From The Daily Beast

My new acquaintance called for a hookah and sherbet, and in a few moments we were on excellent terms.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a little table at hand; on it stood a rock-crystal goblet and a silver cooler filled with snow-water and rose sherbet.

From Project Gutenberg

Almost immediately she rentered, in each hand a silver cup, the cups identical, each filled with violet sherbet.

From Project Gutenberg

Then in summer, if you can get ice cheaply, you can have fruits made into sherbet or frozen as they are.

From Project Gutenberg

There we would sit sipping sherbet, and cracking nuts, among which salted watermelon seeds figured prominently.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• frozen yogurt
• sorbet