sassafras

/ˈsasəfɹas/

//ˈsasəfɹas// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sassafras" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sassafras” is uncommon English (frequency #65,481 among 54,294 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,481
frequency rank, English
54,294
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A tree of species Sassafras albidum of the eastern United States and Asia having mitten-shaped leaves and red, aromatic heartwood.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sassafras · sassafras · English

sassafras · rank #65,481 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,481
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 54,294
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sandinista

Nearest frequency peer: Sandinista (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “sassafras”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “sassafras” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026
Key facts for sassafras
PropertyValue
Headwordsassafras
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsasəfɹas/
Letters9
Frequency rank#65,481
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sassafras” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sassafras lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sassafras is uncommon English at frequency #65,481 among 54,294 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsasəfɹas/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for sassafras in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is sassafras, spelled S-A-S-S-A-F-R-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A tree of species Sassafras albidum of the eastern United States and Asia having mitten-shaped leaves and red, aromatic heartwood.
  2. 2
    A tree of any species in the genus Sassafras.
  3. 3
    The bark of the root of this plant, used for medicinal and (mostly historically) culinary purposes and formerly a main ingredient in root beer.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

Sassafras(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sassafras"?
"sassafras" is spelled S-A-S-S-A-F-R-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsasəfɹas/.
What does "sassafras" mean?
As a noun, "sassafras" means: A tree of species Sassafras albidum of the eastern United States and Asia having mitten-shaped leaves and red, aromatic heartwood.
How do you pronounce "sassafras"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sassafras" is /ˈsasəfɹas/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sassafras"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sassafras", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rebounder#65,448spearmint#65,524squawking#65,530stackable#65,532
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list