cider

noun

ci·​der ˈsī-dər How to pronounce cider (audio)
1
: fermented apple juice often made sparkling by carbonation or fermentation in a sealed container
2
: the expressed juice of fruit (such as apples) used as a beverage or for making other products (such as applejack)

Examples of cider in a Sentence

a cup of apple cider
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Don’t miss the Berkeley Humane Society’s 11th Annual fundraiser, helping shelter pets while sampling great beer, wine, cider, vodka and tasty bites alongside live music games and hundreds of crowd-friendly pups. —Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 21 May 2025 Apple cider mules and pear gin spritzes are underrated hits that deserve more time on the menu. —Emily Price, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025 Coronado Brewing, bronze for Guava Hard Cider, a fruited cider. —Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2025 Brews, ciders and cocktails from Occidental Brewing Co., 45th Parallel, Best Day Brewing, Havalina and more will all be on tap. —Meira Gebel, Axios, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for cider

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sider, sedyr, cidre "alcoholic drink (in Biblical translations and references), cider," borrowed from Anglo-French sizre, ciser, cydre, going back to Gallo-Romance *cīsera, by metathesis form of Late Latin (Vulgate) sīcera "alcoholic drink," borrowed from Greek (Septuagint) síkera, borrowed from Hebrew shēkhār, from a Semitic base š-k-r, whence Hebrew shākhar "become drunk," Arabic sikara

Note: The medieval French form sizre is attested once, in the 12th-century Cambridge, or Eadwine Psalter, where it appears as a translation of the Latin siceram in Psalm 68:14 (the Vulgate has vinum in this passage). (For other medieval outcomes and modern dialect forms see Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, v. 11, pp. 589-90.) Presumably *cīs(ĕ)ra yielded *tsizdra, which with loss of the internal sibilant yielded cidre (see Pierre Fouché, Phonétique historique du français, vol. 3 [Paris: Klincksieck, 1966], p. 822). Latin sīcera and its vernacular outcomes were likely disseminated and applied to the fermented juice of fruit, especially apples, in monasteries, particularly in non-wine-producing areas of Europe such as Normandy; Norman localization would also account for the thorough penetration of the word into Anglo-French.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cider was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing cider

Rhymes for cider

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Browse Nearby Words

Cid, El
cider
cider apple
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Cite this Entry

“Cider.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cider. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.

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Kids Definition

cider

noun
ci·​der ˈsīd-ər How to pronounce cider (audio)
: the juice pressed out of fruit (as apples) and used especially as a drink and in the making of vinegar

More from Merriam-Webster on cider

Nglish: Translation of cider for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about cider

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