English Explanatory Dictionary

licorice

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A plant of species Glycyrrhiza glabra, or sometimes in North America, the related American licorice plant Glycyrrhiza lepidota.
  2. A type of candy made from that plant's dried root or its extract.
  3. A black color, named after the licorice.
  4. A flavoring agent made from dried root portions of the aforementioned plant.
  5. A supposed aphrodisiac made in the past from dried roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra and Glycyrrhiza echinata.

Pronunciation

/ˈlɪ.k(ə).ɹɪʃ/ /ˈlɪ.k(ə).ɹɪs/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-licorice.wav LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-liquorice.wav

Word forms

licorice licorices liquorice usage notes

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.

Synonyms

sugarallie

Related words

crab's eye Pontefract cake rosary pea sambuca allsorts

Derived words

black licorice deglycyrrhizinated licorice Indian licorice licorice allsorts licorice extract licorice milkvetch licorice mint licorice pizza licorice root licorice stick licorice wheel licoricey liquorice allsorts red licorice salty licorice wild licorice
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on L Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary