grenadine
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
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a syrup made from pomegranate juice, used as a sweetening and colouring agent in various drinks
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a moderate reddish-orange colour
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( as adjective )
a grenadine coat
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noun
Etymology
Origin of grenadine1
1850–55; < French, perhaps after Granada, Spain. See -ine 1
Origin of grenadine2
1700–10; < French, diminutive of grenade pomegranate. See grenade, -ine 1
Explanation
Grenadine is a syrup made from pomegranates. It’s red, thick, and sticky but delicious mixed with other drinks. If you’ve ever had a proper Shirley Temple, you’ve had grenadine and maybe even a little umbrella. The word grenadine comes from France in the late 1800s, from sirop de grenadine for "syrup made from pomegranates.” Imagine poets and cabaret singers sipping drinks mixed with grenadine in a sassy café in Paris in the 1900s. Or now — people still use grenadine all the time. Bartenders know what grenadine is, since it's part of many mixed drinks. Two drinks that include grenadine are the Sea Breeze (which has alcohol) and the Shirley Temple cocktail (which does not).
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The cocktail, known as "The Barbie," is a mixture of Blue Curacao, grenadine syrup and club soda.
From Reuters ● Jul. 23, 2023
The grenadine syrup that gives that pop of red is, in theory, pomegranate-based — the name grenadine derives from pomegranate — but many commercial grenadines long contained little if any of the fruit.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021
By the 1930s, Constante — "the Cocktail King of Cuba" who invented Hemingway's daiquiri — had tweaked the recipe to call for equal parts rum and vermouth, and lost the grenadine and bitters.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2021
As I sipped a Birds of Paradise Fizz cocktail, their version of a 1940s classic, with house-made grenadine and herbs from the garden, I decided on the tasting menu over the à la carte options.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2015
“Take last night. There was at least ten guys ordered Manhattans. Sometimes maybe you don’t get two calls for a Manhattan in a month. It’s the grenadine gives the stuff that taste.”
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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