asarum

[ as-er-uhm ]

/ ˈæs ər əm /

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noun Chemistry.

the dried rhizome and roots of wild ginger that yield an acrid resin and a volatile, aromatic oil, used chiefly as a flavoring.

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Origin of asarum

<Latin <Greek ásaron hazelwort, wild spikenard

Words nearby asarum

ASAP, asarabacca, Asarah Betevet, asarotum, as a rule, asarum, as . . . as, Asat, saving grace, a, as a whole, asb.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use asarum in a sentence

True ginger must not be confounded with "wild ginger," which is a small herbaceous plant (Asarum canadense) of the United States.
Birds and all Nature, Vol. V, No. 2, February 1899|Various
The long, slender rhizomes of Asarum have a pungent, aromatic taste similar to ginger.
Birds and all Nature, Vol. V, No. 2, February 1899|Various
It is probably a mixture of asarum-camphor and some partially oxidised volatile oil.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
It also feeds upon wild ginger or Asarum and probably upon other plants.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed

British Dictionary definitions for asarum

asarum

/ (ˈæsərəm) /

noun

the dried strong-scented root of the wild ginger plant: a flavouring agent and source of an aromatic oil used in perfumery, formerly used in medicine

Word Origin for asarum

C19: via New Latin from Latin: hazelwort, from Greek asaron

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012