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Glite Dictionary
🍒 A sweet garnish 🌳 A cherry tree
maraschino cherry

maraschino cherry

7.7
A wild Dalmatian cherry tree whose bitter fruit is used to make a sweet alcoholic cherry drink
  • noun
  • /ˌmɛrəˈskiːnoʊ ˈtʃɛri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cereza marasca
  • I love a maraschino cherry on top of my sundae.

Examples

  • The unique flavour of the maraschino cherry sets it apart from other cherry varieties.

  • The bitter fruit of the maraschino cherry is used by distilleries across Europe.

  • Growers in Dalmatia still cultivate the original maraschino cherry for traditional liqueur.

  • The bartender added a maraschino cherry to the cocktail.

  • The cake was beautifully decorated with a bright red maraschino cherry on top.

  • He topped his sundae with a maraschino cherry, adding a sweet finishing touch.

  • Bartenders often use a maraschino cherry as a garnish in their cocktails to enhance presentation.

Synonyms

marasca
vsmaraschino cherry
  • Specialized
9.9

A cherry tree from Dalmatia with bitter fruit used for maraschino

is a wild Dalmatian tree rather than a valued cultivated variety
marasca cherry
vsmaraschino cherry
  • Specialized
9.8

A small dark bitter fruit from Dalmatia used to make maraschino liqueur

is the tree form rather than the small fruit or its juice

Surface Forms

maraschino cherry singular
maraschino cherries plural

Morphology

maraschino + cherry

The compound is a straightforward modifier + noun construction: 'maraschino' specifies the type/process (cherry preserved in syrup or liqueur) and 'cherry' names the fruit, so the overall meaning is directly derivable from the constituents. This kind of type-specifying combination is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English noun phrase composition, making it immediately comprehensible to learners who know both words.

Etymology

Maraschino cherry originally meant the small, bitter wild cherries from Dalmatia that were used to make a strong 'liqueur'. Distillers turned those sour fruits into the maraschino drink, so the tree and its fruit became known as the maraschino cherry.