licorice

American  

[lik-er-ish, lik-rish, lik-uh-ris] / ˈlɪk ər ɪʃ, ˈlɪk rɪʃ, ˈlɪk ə rɪs /

especially British, liquorice

noun

1. a Eurasian plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra, of the legume family.

2. the sweet-tasting, dried root of this plant or an extract made from it, used in medicine, confectionery, etc.

3. a candy flavored with licorice root.

4. any of various related or similar plants.

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licorice British  

/ ˈlɪkərɪs /

noun

1. the usual US and Canadian spelling of liquorice

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Etymology

Origin of licorice

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English lycorys, from Anglo-French, from unattested Vulgar Latin liquiritia for Latin glycyrrhiza, from Greek glykýrrhiza “sweetroot (plant),” equivalent to glyký(s) “sweet” + rhíza “root”; root ¹, -ia

Example Sentences

I peeked at Aunt Kitty to see if she was preparing to holler at me, but I saw her slip licorice from a silver tin and pop it into her mouth.

From Literature

Watching the licorice sequence now reminds Bird of what incredible fun it was to do the show.

From Los Angeles Times

She started London Borough of Jam in her home; raspberry jam with licorice was the first offering.

From The Wall Street Journal

My two sons pulled matching faces of disgust when I offered them Scandinavian salty black licorice with raspberry I’d purchased on a whim in Norway.

From The Wall Street Journal

The children wondered if she might have snuck up to her room on the fourth floor, to read for a bit while nibbling on a piece of licorice.

From Literature