Sarsaparilla

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sarsaparilla \Sar`sa*pa*ril"la\, n. [Sp. zarzaparrilla; zarza a
     bramble (perhaps fr. Bisc. zartzia) + parra a vine, or
     Parillo, a physician said to have discovered it.] (Bot.)
     (a) Any plant of several tropical American species of
         {Smilax}.
     (b) The bitter mucilaginous roots of such plants, used in


         medicine and in sirups for soda, etc.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The name is also applied to many other plants and their
           roots, especially to the {Aralia nudicaulis}, the wild
           sarsaparilla of the United States.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

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