Everyday LifeGreek → English
Liquorice
/ˈlɪkərɪʃ/noun
A black confection flavoured with extract from the root of the Glycyrrhiza plant.
The Greek roots
γλυκύς
glykýs
sweet
ῥίζα
rhíza
root
Literally: “sweet root”
The story of the word
The Greek name is plain botany: the root really is sweet, and the compound responsible, glycyrrhizin, is many times sweeter than sugar. Latin turned γλυκύρριζα into liquiritia, and medieval scribes pulled the first syllable towards liquēre, to be fluid, which is why English spells it with liqu. Americans gave up and write licorice. The plant's Linnaean name, Glycyrrhiza glabra, simply restores the Greek.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → English
- First recorded
- 13th century
Same family
glucoseglycerinerhizomeglycogen
In a sentence
He kept a bag of liquorice allsorts in the glovebox for long drives.