lic·o·rice

[lik-er-ish, lik-rish, lik-uh-ris]
noun
1.
a Eurasian plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra, of the legume family.
2.
the sweet-tasting, dried root of this plant or an extract made from it, used in medicine, confectionery, etc.
3.
a candy flavored with licorice root.
4.
any of various related or similar plants.
Also, liquorice.


Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English lycorys < Anglo-French < Vulgar Latin *liquiritia for Latin glycyrrhiza < Greek glykýrriza sweetroot (plant), equivalent to glyký(s) sweet + rhíza root1; see -ia

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To licorice
00:10
Licorice is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
licorice (ˈlɪkərɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
the usual US and Canadian spelling of liquorice

liquorice or (US and Canadian) licorice (ˈlɪkərɪs, -ərɪʃ, ˈlɪkərɪs, -ərɪʃ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a perennial Mediterranean leguminous shrub, Glycyrrhiza glabra, having spikes of pale blue flowers and flat red-brown pods
2.  the dried root of this plant, used as a laxative and in confectionery
3.  a sweet having a liquorice flavour
 
[C13: via Anglo-Norman and Old French from Late Latin liquirītia, from Latin glycyrrhīza, from Greek glukurrhiza, from glukus sweet + rhiza root]
 
licorice or (US and Canadian) licorice
 
n
 
[C13: via Anglo-Norman and Old French from Late Latin liquirītia, from Latin glycyrrhīza, from Greek glukurrhiza, from glukus sweet + rhiza root]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

licorice
c.1200, from Anglo-Fr. lycoryc, from O.Fr. licorece, from L.L. liquiritia, alteration of L. glychyrrhiza, from Gk. glykyrrhiza, lit. "sweet root," from glykys "sweet" (see glucose) + rhiza "root;" form influenced in L. by liquere "become fluid," associated by the method
of extracting the sweet stuff from the root. Fr. réglisse, It. regolizia are the same word, with metathesis of -l- and -r-.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Bright, spicy cherries with a red licorice edge softened by lavender.
The bright licorice notes of the vegetable complement fish, mussels and shrimp
  so well.
Some licorice products don't contain extracts from the actual root and instead
  use anise to achieve a similar flavor.
Licorice, a common additive, becomes co-carcinogenic when burned.
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