Definition of "sarsaparilla" [sar•sa•pa•ril•la]

• Any of several tropical American plants of the genus Smilax, having fragrant roots used as a flavoring. (noun)
• The dried roots of any of these plants. (noun)
• A sweet soft drink flavored with these roots. (noun)
• Either of two North American plants (Aralia hispida or A. nudicaulis) having umbels of small white flowers and bipinnately compound leaves. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It is too the real black Jamaica sarsaparilla, that is so much valued in the European and American markets."
• "The briar which produces the sarsaparilla is a tall creeping plant, which throws out a large number of long wrinkled roots of a uniform thickness, and about the size of a goose-quill."
• "He continues with advice on how to recognize and treat the disease with various substances and techniques such as sarsaparilla, guaiacum, various ointments, and fumigation."