sassafras

[ sas-uh-fras ]

noun

an American tree, Sassafras albidum, of the laurel family, having egg-shaped leaves and long clusters of greenish-yellow flowers.
the aromatic bark of its root, used medicinally and especially for flavoring beverages, confectionery, etc.

Origin of sassafras

First recorded in 1570–80, sassafras is from the Spanish word sasafrás

Words Nearby sassafras

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

How to use sassafras in a sentence

Below Whitney’s gravesite, Charap brought me to a colony of sassafras trees that had taken over the hillside.
This historic Brooklyn cemetery shows us a future without lawns | Ryan Goldberg | November 17, 2021 | Popular-Science
Tasting it recently, I found the wine beautifully integrated, with lovely savory notes of dark cherry, sassafras and mushrooms.
You’ll want to sip this sustainably made rosé all through the summer | Dave McIntyre | July 23, 2021 | Washington Post
Burial 15 was a teenager who had been laid to rest with care and what may have been sprigs of sassafras.
Faces of the dead emerge from lost African American graveyard | Michael Ruane | July 9, 2021 | Washington Post
sassafras, youre feeding Tessie too much red meat, said Tootles, shifting his metaphors as Sam came to the rescue.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
sassafras received orders to announce that he was out, except to two men, lawyers evidently, who came from time to time.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson

Another thing they noticed was that he did not leave the arcade or indeed the sixth floor, having his meals sent in by sassafras.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
He called up sassafras and put him on watch for any new attempt, improbable though it might be.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
But as they were studying over ways and means, Myrtle Popper came in with fresh information by way of sassafras.
The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for sassafras

sassafras

/ (ˈsæsəˌfræs) /

noun

an aromatic deciduous lauraceous tree, Sassafras albidum, of North America, having three-lobed leaves and dark blue fruits
the aromatic dried root bark of this tree, used as a flavouring, and yielding sassafras oil

Australian any of several unrelated trees having a similar fragrant bark

Origin of sassafras

C16: from Spanish sasafrás, of uncertain origin

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

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