Kirsch, cherry, and cerise all trace back to an ancient Turkish port city — Kerasous, where Romans reportedly first tasted cultivated cherries.
A clear, colorless brandy distilled from fermented cherry juice, especially morello cherries. Also called kirschwasser.
From German Kirsch, short for Kirschwasser (cherry water), from Kirsche (cherry) + Wasser (water). German Kirsche derives from Vulgar Latin *ceresia, from Latin cerasum (cherry), from Greek kerasion (κεράσιον), ultimately named after the ancient city of Kerasous (Giresun) on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, where Romans reportedly first encountered cultivated cherries. Key roots: cerasum (Latin (from Greek
Kirsch, cherry, and cerise all come from the same source: the ancient Greek city of Kerasous (modern Giresun, Turkey) on the Black Sea, where the Roman general Lucullus supposedly brought cultivated cherry trees back to Rome in 74 BCE. Whether or not this story is historically accurate, the city's name became the word for cherry across Europe. Kirsch is traditionally used in Swiss fondue (where it prevents the cheese from clumping) and in Black