sarsaparilla Meaning, Definition & Usage

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

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. ✍ The name is also applied to many other plants and their roots, especially to the Aralia nudicaulis, the wild sarsaparilla of the United States.