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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. Any of several tropical American plants of the genus Smilax, having fragrant roots used as a flavoring.
  2. n. The dried roots of any of these plants.
  3. n. A sweet soft drink flavored with these roots.
  4. n. Either of two North American plants (Aralia hispida or A. nudicaulis) having umbels of small white flowers and bipinnately compound leaves.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. The rhizome of several plants of the genus Smilax, chiefly, it is believed, of S. medica, S. officinalis, and S. papyracea, all of tropical America.
  2. n. Any plant of the order Smilaceæ.
  3. n. A medicinal preparation of sarsaparilla-root. The reputation of sarsaparilla as a medicine has sometimes suffered from worthless substitutes, or from the root being too long kept, but it now has an established character as an alterative, most usefully employed in syphilis, but also valuable in chronic rheumatism and other affections. Compare china-root.
  4. n. Hardenbergia monophylla. See Hardenbergia.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any of various tropical American vines, of the genus Smilax, having fragrant roots
  2. n. The dried roots of these plants, or a flavoring material extracted from these roots
  3. n. A soft drink flavored with this extract
  4. n. Any of several North American plants, of the genus Aralia, having umbels and small white flowers

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. Any plant of several tropical American species of Smilax.
  2. n. The bitter mucilaginous roots of such plants, used in medicine and in sirups for soda, etc.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. any of various prickly climbing plants of the tropical American genus Smilax having aromatic roots and heart-shaped leaves
  2. n. carbonated drink flavored with an extract from sarsaparilla root or with birch oil and sassafras

Etymologies

  1. From Spanish zarzaparrilla. (Wiktionary)
  2. Spanish zarzaparrilla : zarza, bramble (from Arabic šaras, colloquial variant of širs, from šarasa, to be vicious, ultimately from šarra; see śrr in Semitic roots) + parrilla, diminutive of parra, vine. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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  • yarb They started homeward at noon, having drunk quarts of sarsaparilla to quench their thirst.

    - William Steig, Farmer Palmer's Wagon Ride Sep 20, 2008

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‘sarsaparilla’ has been looked up 1742 times, loved by 2 people, added to 33 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 14.