Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as sambuke.

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

  • noun An Italian liqueur made from elderberries and flavoured with licorice. Traditionally served with 3 coffee beans that represent health, wealth and fortune.

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

  • noun an Italian liqueur made with elderberries and flavored with licorice

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Italian sambuca, from Latin sambūcus ("elderberry").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sambuca.

Examples

  • Once the sambuca was the center of attention, the other ships could draw up alongside the rest of the seawall and send troops up ladders with impunity.

    The Grass Crown McCullough, Colleen, 1937- 1991

  • Ouzo and other anise-flavored beverages such as sambuca consist of about 55 percent water, 45 percent alcohol, and a small amount of flavored oil.

    Molecular gastronomy ewillett 2008

  • “He was being very flirty and I was quite taken aback but just went for it,” said Agar, who chalked up his behavior to too many pints followed by too many shots of sambuca.

    William and Kate Christopher Andersen 2011

  • A beloved antique clock that belonged to her mother was smashed, and a toppled bottle of sambuca left a sticky mess on a blue carpet.

    At N.Z. quake epicenter, screams and flying boulders 2011

  • At Elements, a nightclub in the nearby town of Bournemouth, William knocked back pints of Stella Artois with sambuca chasers while dozens of women in skimpy outfits took pictures of the prince with their cell phones.

    William and Kate Christopher Andersen 2011

  • He knows, and he knows that we know, that once he was complicit in the sale of all sorts of colourful concoctions; the Pink Pussy (Campari, peach brandy, lemon-lime soda, served over ice), and of course, the Slippery Nipple (2 parts sambuca, 1 part Irish cream liqueur, dash of grenadine).

    Hugh Muir's diary 2012

  • A beloved antique clock that belonged to her mother was smashed, and a toppled bottle of sambuca left a sticky mess on a blue carpet.

    At N.Z. quake epicenter, screams and flying boulders 2011

  • Italians have a different idea of how to improve a cup of cappuccino and espresso: Add a shot of grappa or sambuca, transforming the beverage into a "corretto."

    Coffee That Gives a Real Jolt Ralph Gardner Jr. 2011

  • The bride immediately swapped her L-plate for a pair of glasses, revealed she was a lawyer, and pointed out the contract wasn't legally binding – before downing yet another sambuca and shrieking for the compere to take his top off.

    Isy Suttie: My Edinburgh 2011

  • Or, you could sub in “Double chocolate mousse cake, cappucino, and sambuca

    I shouldn’t have eaten that. 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • also an ancient triangular musical instrument

    January 22, 2008

  • So I could sip a sambuca whilst listening to a somnambulist in a sombrero playing a somber samba on a sambuca?

    Cool.

    January 22, 2008

  • There's a vacation goal.

    January 22, 2008