Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Unfermented juice pressed from fruit, especially apples, used as a beverage or to make other products, such as vinegar.
  • noun An alcoholic beverage made by fermenting juice pressed from fruit, especially apples.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A strong liquor.
  • noun Formerly, any liquor made of the juice of fruits; now, the expressed juice of apples, either before or after fermentation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The expressed juice of apples. It is used as a beverage, for making vinegar, and for other purposes.
  • noun a kind of brandy distilled from cider.
  • noun a mill in which cider is made.
  • noun the press of a cider mill.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, uncountable An alcoholic, sparkling (carbonated) beverage made from fermented apples.
  • noun US, uncountable A non-alcoholic, still beverage consisting of the (usually unfiltered and still containing pulp) juice of early-harvest apples. (Without pulp such a beverage is called apple juice.)
  • noun Australia, uncountable A non-alcoholic carbonated beverage made from apples.
  • noun in Japan A non-alcoholic drink, normally carbonated; equivalent to soft drink.
  • noun Any particular type of one of these beverages.
  • noun countable A cup, glass, or serving of any of these beverages.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a beverage made from juice pressed from apples

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English sidre, hard cider, from Old French sizre, sidre, from Late Latin sīcera, intoxicating drink, from Greek sikera, of Semitic origin; see škr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English cidre or sidre, from Old French cisdre or sidre ("beverage made from fermented apples"), from Medieval Latin sīcera, from Ancient Greek σίκερα ("fermented liquor, strong drink"), of Semitic origin.

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Examples

  • The term cider entered the English language as a corruption of sekar, a Hebrew word for strong drink which itself derived from the ancient Greek sikera.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Jane Peyton 2012

  • The term cider entered the English language as a corruption of sekar, a Hebrew word for strong drink which itself derived from the ancient Greek sikera.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Jane Peyton 2012

  • In some places of England there is a kind of drink made of apples which they call cider or pomage, but that of pears is called perry, and both are ground and pressed in presses made for the nonce.

    Chronicle and Romance (The Harvard Classics Series) Thomas Malory Jean Froissart

  • In some places of England there is a kind of drink made of apples which they call cider or pomage, but that of pears is called perry, and both are ground and pressed in presses made for the nonce.

    Of the Food and Diet of the English. Chapter VI. [1577, Book III., Chapter 1; 1587, Book II., Chapter 6 1909

  • If you must have your bubbles, sparkling cider is available at the halfway point of the four-mile course.nyrr. org

    The Coming Season Lorraine Cademartori 2010

  • Apple cider is a type of unfiltered apple juice made from pressing ripe apples to remove the liquid from them.

    How to make spiced apple cider | Baking Bites 2009

  • Or be disciplined and then ahve have a blow out of pork and apple suaages braised in cider - 2 birds, one delicious stone!!

    Jean's Knitting Jean 2009

  • It can be served chilled, but one of the most popular - and most delicious - things to do with a batch of apple cider is to spice it and serve it heated.

    How to make spiced apple cider | Baking Bites 2009

  • Add cornstarch, sugar and apple cider (use apple juice if no cider is available) and stir with a spatula to coat all apple slices evenly.

    Whole Grain Apple Crisp | Baking Bites 2009

  • Once the cider is steaming hot, stir in about 1 1/2 tbsp caramel sauce, then add whipped cream and another drizzle of caramel.

    Caramel Apple Cider | Baking Bites 2009

  • As a folk remedy there are countless variations, but most fire cider recipes include ingredients like fresh horseradish, garlic, onion, ginger, and chile pepper. These are infused in apple cider vinegar (vinegar draws out many plant constituents), which is then strained and sweetened with honey.

    Fire Cider The Kitchn 2023

Comments

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  • I like the drink, but I find this word a bit unnerving...

    December 3, 2008

  • Why?

    December 3, 2008

  • It's a applecide!

    December 3, 2008

  • Indeed.

    December 3, 2008

  • It could be pressed from any of the entries on this list (doctor deterrents)

    December 3, 2008

  • William Roberts advertised in the Maryland Gazette in 1745 that his servant, John Powell, had not in fact run away, but had 'only gone into the country a cider drinking' and was again prepared to repair watches and clocks.

    —Sarah Hand Meacham, Every Home a Distillery: Alcohol, Gender, and Technology in the Colonial Chesapeake (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 122

    June 18, 2010