sambuca
1[ sam-byoo-kuh ]
/ sæmˈbyu kə /
noun
Also sam·buke [sam-byook] /ˈsæm byuk/. an ancient stringed musical instrument used in Greece and the Near East.
a medieval hurdy-gurdy.
Words nearby sambuca
samba, sambal, sambar, sambo, sambre, sambuca, same, same difference, same here, same old story, the, same to you
Origin of sambuca
11350–1400; Middle English sambuke < Latin sambūca < Greek sambȳ́kē perhaps < Semitic; compare Aramaic sabbəkhā
Definition for sambuca (2 of 2)
sambuca2
[ sam-boo-kuh; Italian sahm-boo-kah ]
/ sæmˈbu kə; Italian sɑmˈbu kɑ /
noun
a licorice-flavored Italian liqueur made from elderberries.
Origin of sambuca
21970–75; < Italian, feminine derivative of sambuco elder < Latin sa(m)būcus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for sambuca
A man with a table, Sambuca and Acqua-vita bottles on it, and wee glasses, one cent a drink: melodrama.
The sambuca seems to have been a large harp, which rested on the ground, like the harps of the Egyptians.
Among them are the Psaltery of various shapes, the Sambuca or sackbut, the single and double Chorus, &c.
Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages|Edward Lewes Cutts