The ade in lemonade is not there because the drink comes to your “aid” when you are parched. Rather, it is a suffix meaning produced from, and was first used to form the name of a beverage in the late fourteenth century when pomade appeared, a drink made from “pommes,” or what we now call apples. The name pomade did not, however, outlive the fourteenth century due to the greater popularity of the word cider. Lemonade appeared three hundred years later, an adoption of the French limonade. After another two hundred years, the popularity of lemonade led to the appearance between 1882 and 1892 of limeade, cherryade, and gingerade, none of which ever achieved the currency of lemonade.
Lemonade is a thirst-quenching beverage crafted from a blend of lemon juice, sugar, water, and the zesty outer peel of the lemon. The term “lemonade” is also used for a variety of drinks that taste of lemon. Some commercially available lemonade substitutes carbonated water for regular water, and replaces natural sugar with cheap forms of glucose and artificial sweeteners. They also use citric acid and yellow coloring instead of real lemon.