sassafras

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablebiology

   A tree of eastern North America with fragrant bark and leaves of different shapes, including a mitten-like leaf.

   Grammar: Refers to the tree: a sassafras beside the road.

   A sassafras stood at the edge of the woods, its leaves turning orange.

   Children learn to spot the sassafras by its mitten-shaped leaves.

   The sassafras grows well in sandy soil.

2. 2noununcountable

   The dried bark or root of this tree, used to give a flavor to drinks and food and in folk medicine.

   Grammar: Used without a: tea made from sassafras.

   Patterns

   • tea made from sassafras

   Settlers made a tea from sassafras roots.

   Early root beer got its flavor from sassafras.

   Ground sassafras leaves thicken Creole stew called gumbo filé.

Word forms

Common combinations

sassafras tea

They drank sassafras tea around the campfire.

sassafras root

Sassafras root gave the drink its flavor.

sassafras tree

The sassafras tree has three leaf shapes.

sassafras oil

Sassafras oil is now restricted in food.

sassafras leaves

Sassafras leaves turn red in autumn.

Synonyms and how they differ

filé

Filé is the ground sassafras leaf used in cooking, while sassafras is the tree and the plant parts generally.

root beer flavor

Root beer flavor describes a taste that was once made from sassafras but today is mostly synthetic.

Word family

sassafrases noun

more than one tree

safrole noun

a chemical compound found in sassafras oil

filé noun

a powder of dried, ground sassafras leaves used to thicken stews

Commonly confused: sassafras or saxifrage?

Practice

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