licorice
/ˈlɪ.k(ə).ɹɪʃ/ noun
Forms licorices liquorice
- noun (countable) A plant of species Glycyrrhiza glabra, or sometimes in North America, the related American licorice plant Glycyrrhiza lepidota.
- noun (uncountable) A type of candy made from that plant's dried root or its extract.
- noun (countable and uncountable) A black color, named after the licorice.
- noun (uncountable, chemistry) A flavoring agent made from dried root portions of the aforementioned plant.
- noun (uncountable) A supposed aphrodisiac made in the past from dried roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Glycyrrhiza echinata.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English lycorys, from Old French licoresse, from Late Latin liquiritia, alteration of Ancient Greek γλυκύρριζα (glukúrrhiza): γλυκύς (glukús, “sweet”) + ῥίζα (rhíza, “root”) (English glucose, English rhizome). Doublet of glycyrrhiza.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza (G. glabra), the root of which abounds with a juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions.
- noun The inspissated juice of licorice root, used as a confection and medicinal purposes. Licorice fern (Bot.), a name of several kinds of polypody which have rootstocks of a sweetish flavor.
Etymology [OE. licoris, though old French, fr. L. liquiritia, corrupted fr. glycyrrhiza, Gr. Glycerin, Glycyrrhiza, Wort.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “licorice”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details