sassafras Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun yellowwood tree with brittle wood and aromatic leaves and bark; source of sassafras oil; widely distributed in eastern North America
    Sassafras albidum; sassafras tree.
  2. noun dried root bark of the sassafras tree

WordNet

Sas"sa*fras noun
Etymology
F. sassafras (cf. It. sassafrasso, sassafras, Sp. sasafras, salsafras, salsifrax, salsifragia, saxifragia), fr. L. saxifraga saxofrage. See Saxifrage.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) An American tree of the Laurel family (Sassafras officinale); also, the bark of the roots, which has an aromatic smell and taste.

Webster 1913