Adjacent Words

Sassafras definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SAS'SAFRAS, n. [L. saxifraga; saxum, a stone, and frango, to break.]
A tree of the genus Laurus, whose bark has an aromatic smell and taste.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: yellowwood tree with brittle wood and aromatic leaves and bark; source of sassafras oil; widely distributed in eastern North America [syn: sassafras, sassafras tree, Sassafras albidum]
2: dried root bark of the sassafras tree

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Spanish sasafrás Date: 1577 1. an eastern North American tree (Sassafras albidum) of the laurel family having both ovate and lobed aromatic leaves 2. the carcinogenic dried root bark of the sassafras used formerly as a diaphoretic or flavoring agent

Britannica Concise

N. Amer. tree (Sassafras albidum) of the laurel family. The aromatic leaf, bark, and root are used as a flavoring, as a traditional home medicine, and as a tea. The aromatic roots yield about 2% oil of sassafras, once the characteristic ingredient of root beer. The tree is native to sandy soils from Maine to Ontario and Iowa and south to Florida and Texas. It is usually small but may attain a height of 65 ft (20 m) or more. It has furrowed bark, bright-green twigs, small clusters of yellow flowers followed by dark-blue berries, and three distinctive forms of leaves, often on the same twig: three-lobed, two-lobed (mitten-shaped), and entire.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a small tree, Sassafras albidum, native to N. America, with aromatic leaves and bark. 2 a preparation of oil extracted from the leaves, or from its bark, used medicinally or in perfumery. Etymology: Sp. sasafrás or Port. sassafraz, of unkn. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Sassafras Sas"sa*fras, n. [F. sassafras (cf. It. sassafrasso, sassafras, Sp. sasafras, salsafras, salsifrax, salsifragia, saxifragia), fr. L. saxifraga saxifrage. See Saxifrage.] (Bot.) An American tree of the Laurel family (Sassafras officinale); also, the bark of the roots, which has an aromatic smell and taste. Australian sassafras, a lofty tree (Doryophora Sassafras) with aromatic bark and leaves. Chilian sassafras, an aromatic tree (Laurelia sempervirens). New Zealand sassafras, a similar tree (Laurelia Nov[ae] Zelandi[ae]). Sassafras nut. See Pichurim bean. Swamp sassafras, the sweet bay (Magnolia glauca). See Magnolia.