Definition of: sarsaparilla

(sas′pə·ril′ə, sär′sə·pə·ril′ə) noun
1. The dried roots of certain tropical American climbing plants (genus Smilax).
2. A medicinal preparation or a beverage made from them.
3. Any one of various plants, so called from some resemblance to true sarsaparilla, as the wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis). [<Sp. zarzaparilla <zarza a bramble + parilla, dim. of parra a vine]