sarsaparilla

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a sweet carbonated drink traditionally flavored with sarsaparilla, sassafras, or birch oil

   Mrs. Hall went back to the cellar for a bottle of sarsaparilla.

2. 2
   noun

   any of several tropical American climbing plants of the genus Smilax with aromatic roots

   The sarsaparilla climbed through the forest undergrowth on thorny stems.

3. 3
   noun

   the dried aromatic root of a sarsaparilla plant, or an extract made from it

   The herbalist added dried sarsaparilla to the mixture for its flavor.

Borrowed from Spanish zarzaparrilla, from zarza ("bramble, bush") + parrilla, a diminutive of parra ("vine"). English commonly lost the first of the word's two r sounds through dissimilation. The plant name later extended to its aromatic root, flavoring, and the soft drink made with it.

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