bittersweet

Etymology

From Middle English bitterswete, biterswete, equivalent to bitter + sweet. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitterswäit (“bittersweet”), West Frisian bittersoet (“bittersweet”), Dutch bitterzoet (“bittersweet”), German bittersüß (“bittersweet”), Danish bittersød (“bittersweet”), Swedish bittersöt (“bittersweet”).

adj

1. Both bitter and sweet.
   bittersweet chocolate
   The dark green mooncake is loaded with matcha-infused salted egg yolk custard, which gives a bittersweet taste. 21 August 2016, Kenneth Goh, “Roll over, chocolate lava cakes — here come lava mooncakes”, in The Straits Times
2. (figurative) Expressing contrasting emotions of pain and pleasure.
   The break-up was very bittersweet; they both hurt to end it, but were glad it was over.
   He sat beside the busy street, There, where he last had seen her face: And thronging memories, bitter-sweet, Seemed yet to haunt the ancient place: 1898, Lewis Carroll, “Three Sunsets”, in Three Sunsets and Other Poems
   While the final festivities were bittersweet, David and Lisa insisted on a party rather than a funeral. 2020-01-16, Diana Hubbell, “Bittersweet Berlin goodbye as Clärchens Ballhaus faces uncertain future”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
   The public has complicated feelings about our decision to end this trial before it ever began, and that’s OK. It’s bittersweet for us, too. 2023-04-21, John Poulos, “Dominion’s C.E.O.: Why We Settled the Lawsuit Against Fox News”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. (color) Of bittersweet color.

noun

1. Bittersweet nightshade, Solanum dulcamara.
2. Bittersweetness.
   I had once before visited these three villages, Skedans, Tanoo and Cumshewa. The bitter-sweet of their overwhelming loneliness created a longing to return to them. 1941, Emily Carr, chapter 18, in Klee Wyck
3. (US) A vine, of the genus Celastrus, having small orange fruit that open to reveal red seeds.
   Over by the creek-bed scarlet-flamed sumac shouldered the silver-green of the willows, and orange-colored bittersweet crept through the tangle of wild plums. 1935, Bess Streeter Aldrich, chapter 43, in Spring Came on Forever
4. A variety of apple with a bittersweet taste.
5. Any variety of clam in the family Glycymerididae
6. (color) A pinkish-orange color. Any color in between scarlet and orange.
   bittersweet: