Sorbet, or sherbet, is a frozen dessert made from sugar-sweetened water with flavoring – typically fruit juice, fruit purée, wine, liqueur or honey.

It is believed that sorbets originated in ancient Persia. The word sherbet (see sharbat for the drink) first entered the language as the Italian sorbetto, which later became sorbet in French. The first Western mention of sherbet is an Italian reference to something that Turks drink. In the 17th-century, England began importing "sherbet powders" from Ottoman Empire made from dried fruit and flowers mixed with sugar. By 1662, a coffeehouse in London advertised the availability of "sherbets made in Turkie of Lemons, Roses and Violets perfumed". In 1670, Café Procope opened in Paris and began selling sorbet. (In the modern era sherbet powder is still popular in the UK.) When Europeans figured out how to freeze sherbet they began making sorbetto by adding fruit juices and flavorings to a frozen simple syrup base. In the US sherbet generally meant an ice milk, but recipes from early soda fountain manuals include ingredients like gelatin, beaten egg whites, cream, or milk.

Agraz is a type of sorbet that is usually associated with the Maghreb and north Africa. It is made from almonds, verjuice, and sugar. It has a strongly acidic flavour, because of the verjuice. (Larousse Gastronomique)

Givré (French for "frosted") is the term for a sorbet served in a frozen coconut shell or fruit peel, such as a lemon peel.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org