WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Lic"o*rice
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [OE. licoris, though old French, fr. L. liquiritia, corrupted fr. glycyrrhiza, Gr. Glycerin, Glycyrrhiza, Wort.] [Written also liquorice.]
Definition : 1. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the genus Glycyrrhiza (G. glabra), the root of which abounds with a juice, and is much used in demulcent compositions.

2. The inspissated juice of licorice root, used as a confection and medicinal purposes. Licorice fern (Bot.), a name of several kinds of polypody which have rootstocks of a sweetish flavor. -- Licorice sugar. (Chem.) See Glycyrrhizin. -- Licorice weed (Bot.), the tropical plant Scapania aulcis. -- Mountain licorice (Bot.), a kind of clover (Trifolium alpinum), found in the Alps. It has large purplish flowers and a sweetish perennial rootstock. -- Wild licorice. (Bot.) (a) The North American perennial herb Glycyrrhiza lepidota. (b) Certain broad-leaved cleavers (Galium circ?zans and G. lanceolatum). (c) The leguminous climber Abrus precatorius, whose scarlet and black seeds are called black-eyed Susans. Its roots are used as a substitute for those of true licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913