Glykyrrhiza

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of flowering plants in the legume family, often known for their roots which are sweet and used in traditional medicine and confections
2. A plant group recognized for its sweet-tasting roots, commonly employed in herbal remedies and flavoring agents
3. A type of flowering leguminous plant whose roots are prized for their sweetness and are utilized in various culinary and medicinal applications

Etymology: Liquorice comes from a Greek compound, "glykyrrhiza," built from "glykys," meaning "sweet," and "rhiza," meaning "root." The plant's root is intensely sweet, and the Greeks valued it as a flavouring and remedy long before anyone in Europe knew the sweetener sugar. The Latin form "liquiritia," borrowed from Greek and altered by folk association with Latin "liquor," produced the English spelling "liquorice," which is why the name now looks like it has something to do with alcoholic drink. It does not; the two words only converged in form. The botanical name for the plant, Glycyrrhiza, keeps the Greek original almost intact, and it is the form scientists still use. English speakers borrowed the older Latin-derived word centuries ago, in the Middle Ages, and it entered the language in forms that gradually shifted toward the spelling we know today.

Synonyms: licorice, liquorice