| sarsaparilla | <botany> Any plant of several tropical American species of Smilax. The bitter mucilaginous roots of such plants, used in medicine and in sirups for soda, etc. The name is also applied to many other plants and their roots, especially to the Aralia nudicaulis, the wild sarsaparilla of the United States. Origin: Sp. Zarzaparrilla; zarza a bramble (perhaps fr. Bisc. Zartzia) + parra a vine, or Parillo, a physician said to have discovered it. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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