Etymology

sassafras

S1A1S1S1A1F4R1A1S1

Today it means: A tree of species Sassafras albidum of the eastern United States and Asia having mitten-shaped leaves and red, aromatic heartwood. Full definition →

Spanish sasafrás ← Latin saxifragus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromsaxifragus“stone-breaking”
  2. Spanish · borrowed fromsasafrás
  3. English todaysassafras

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.

Words from the same roots

Latinsaxifragus all →

saxifragesaxifragous

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.