The root, especially the root bark, contains about 4% glycyrrhizin, the
potassium or calcium salt of glycyrrhizinic acid. The latter is a glycoside of
a pentacyclic triterpene carboxylic acid (18β-glycyrrhetic acid)
with two molecules glucuronic acid. Glycyrrhizin is about 50 times sweeter
than sucrose (cane sugar).
Furthermore, a flavonoid glycoside has been identified: liquiritin. The aglycon
liquiritigenin is in part spontaneously formed when the root is dried; it is
responsible for the spasmolytic effects of licorice.
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Licorice shrub in full flower (G. glabra)
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Licorice contains only traces of essential oil; volatile constituents
identified include bicyclic monterpenoid ketones (fenchone, thujone) and
coumarins (herniarin, umbelliferone).
Licorice essentially derives from Greek
glykeia rhiza [γλυκεῖα ῥίζα] “sweet root”; compare also the modern
Greek name glikoriza [γλυκόριζα].
For the first element glykys [γλυκύς] “sweet”
see almond; the second element
rhiza [ῥίζα]
is cognate to English “root”, being derived from the Indo-European
linguistic root WRD (see also horseradish).
In Latin tongue, the Greek plant name appears as liquiritia,
being influenced by liquere “flow” for the liquid
form of licorice juice. The British spelling liquorice has
somewhat conserved that relation. Latin liquiritia is the
source of many names for licorice in modern European languages, e.g., German
Lakritze, Czech lékořice and
Ukrainian lokrytsya [локриця].
In most of the Romance languages, the word was changed by metathesis
between the sounds L and R (Provençal recalicé,
French réglisse, Spanish ragaliz).
Basque erregaliz is a loan from these Romance forms.
The German name Süßholz “sweet wood” and its
Dutch analogue zoethout are probably simply calqued from
liquorice. German süß “sweet” has many
Germanic cognates (English sweet, Dutch zoet, Danish
sød, Old Norse sætr) going back
to a Common Germanic root SWOTJA. There are also relatives outside the
Germanic branch: Old Greek hedys [ἡδύς]
(see also mint),
Sanskrit svadu [स्वादु],
Latin suavis, all meaning “sweet”, and the Greek noun
hedone [ἡδονή] “delight, pleasure”;
the Indo-European root may be reconstructed as SWADU
“sweet; pleasure” and might itself be composed of two elements
SWA-DU “give (fruit) juice”.
German Holz “wood” also has many relatives: Archaic and
poetic English holt and Welsh celli “wood”,
Russian koloda [колода] “woodblock”
and Greek klados [κλάδος] “branch”.
The original meaning seems to have been “break, cut off”, cf.
Greek klan [κλᾶν]
“break”, Lithuanian kalti “beat, forge” and Latin
clades “hurt, damage”.
The characteristic sweet taste of liquorice is also reflected in the Indian
names. In Sanskrit, madhu [मधु] means “sweet, pleasant”.
This element is found in names for licorice not only in Sanskrit
(madhuka [मधूक] and
yashtimadhu [यष्टिमधु] from
yashti [यष्टि] “stem, stalk”),
but also in modern names of both South and North India, e.g.,
Marathi jestamadha [ज्यष्ठमध],
Bengali yashthimodhu [যষ্ঠিমধু],
Telugu atimadhuramu [అతిమధురము]
and Kannada yashthimadhu [ಯಷ್ಠಿಮಧು].
Outside of India, related names are Lithuanian saldymedis and
Armenian madudag [մատուտակ].
The Indo-European root behind this element is MEDHU “honey, sweet”;
see bear's garlic for its linguistic affiliation.
Further examples of sweetness motivating a name for licorice are
Estonian magusjuur,
Hungarian édesgyökér,
Ukrainian solodkyj korin [солодкий корінь]
and Bulgarian sladuk koren [сладък корен],
all of which translate to “sweet root”.
See also almond for the Slavonic terms for “sweet”.
Lastly, one should mention the Chinese name for the related species
Gl. uralensis, which is gan cao [甘草]
meaning “sweet straw” or “sweet herb”. The name has been transferred to
Vietnamese as cam thao [cam thảo],
to Korean as kamcho [감초]
and to Japanese as kanzō [甘草, かんぞう].
The Japanese Kanji symbols literally mean “sweet grass” or “sweet plant”.
The Latin species name glaber “bald, hairless” refers to
the seed pods which have a smooth surface; in other species of the genus, the
fruits are pubescent.
