sassafras oil

American  

noun

1. a yellowish or reddish-yellow, aromatic volatile oil distilled from sassafras root, used in flavoring, perfumery, and medicine.

---

sassafras oil British  

noun

1. a clear volatile oil that is extracted from the root of the sassafras tree and contains camphor, pinene, and safrole

---

Etymology

Origin of sassafras oil

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

In 1844, he wrote a book in which he finally revealed the ingredients: licorice, myrrh, sassafras oil and quinine.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2020

The former is made from sassafras oil, which is derived mostly from endangered rain forest trees in Brazil and Southeast Asia.

From Washington Post • May 4, 2010

Rheumatic Liniment.—Olive oil, spirits of camphor and chloroform, of each two ounces; sassafras oil, 1 drachm.

From Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Burroughs, Barkham

It is sold as an artificial sassafras oil, and is very much used in perfuming cheap toilet or household soaps.

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.

Safrol, an ether which is the chief constituent of sassafras oil, and also found in considerable quantity in camphor oil.

From The Handbook of Soap Manufacture by Simmons, W. H.