liquorice(n = noun.plant) glycyrrhiza glabra, licorice - deep-rooted coarse-textured plant native to the Mediterranean region having blue flowers and pinnately compound leaves; widely cultivated in Europe for its long thick sweet roots;
liquorice, n. (also licorice)
1 a black root extract used as a sweet and in medicine.
2 the leguminous plant Glycyrrhiza glabra from which it is obtained.
Etymology
ME f. AF lycorys, OF licoresse f. LL liquiritia f. Gk glukurrhiza f. glukus sweet + rhiza root