licorice

the word 'licorice' entered english in the 13th century from the old french 'licoresse'. this french term was itself derived from the late latin 'liquiritia', a corruption of the latin 'glycyrrhiza'. the latin form came directly from the ancient greek 'glukurrhiza', a compound meaning 'sweet root' (from 'glukus' meaning 'sweet' and 'rhiza' meaning 'root'). the transformation from 'glycyrrhiza' to 'liquiritia' and eventually to 'licorice' illustrates a common linguistic process where the unfamiliar greek sounds were altered in latin and subsequent languages to fit native phonetic patterns, obscuring the original morphemic structure in the modern english form.

the word is a simplex loanword. its spelling and form have been anglicized from its source, preventing segmentation into meaningful, productive english morphemes.