Sassafras

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑːs
• UK IPA: /ˈsasÉ™fɹas/

Alternative forms

• saxefras 17th c.

Origin

From Spanish sasafras, possibly from Latin saxifragus ("stone-breaking") from the habit of certain plants growing in cracks in boulders.

Full definition of sassafras

Noun

1. (countable) A tree of species of the eastern United States and Asia having mitten-shaped leaves and red, aromatic heartwood.
2. (countable) A tree of any species in the genus Sassafras.
3. (uncountable) The bark of the root of this plant, used for medicinal and (mostly historically) culinary purposes and formerly a main ingredient in root beer.
• 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 82:our allowance was somewhat bettered, by a daily proportion of Bisket, which the sailers would pilfer to sell, give, or exchange with us, for money, Saxefras, furres, or love.

Derived terms

• ()
• sassafras nut