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Added 10 October 2026

sassafras

/ˈsasəfɹas/ noun

Latin root: saxifragus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sassafras at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Yellowwood tree with brittle wood and aromatic leaves and bark; source of sassafras oil; widely distributed in eastern North America.
Dried root bark of the sassafras tree.

Origin

From Spanish sasafrás, possibly from Latin saxifragus (“stone-breaking”) from the habit of certain plants growing in cracks in boulders. If this etymology is correct, it is a doublet of saxifrage.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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