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Glite Dictionary
star aniseed

star aniseed

5.1
A spice shaped like a star with a sweet licorice smell used in Asian cooking and traditional medicine
  • noun
  • /ˈstɑːr ˈænɪsiːd/
translation icon : anís estrellado
  • The recipe calls for crushed star aniseed to provide a sweet, licorice-like aroma.

Examples

  • We added a single star aniseed to the soup to enhance its flavor.

  • Traditional Chinese medicines sometimes include star aniseed as an ingredient.

  • I love the flavor of star aniseed in my dishes.

  • Have you ever tried star aniseed in your tea?

  • The recipe calls for crushed star aniseed to provide a sweet, licorice-like aroma.

  • Traditional Chinese medicines sometimes include star aniseed as an ingredient.

  • We added a single star aniseed to the soup to enhance its flavor.

Synonyms

star anise
vsstar aniseed
1 4.3

A star-shaped spice that tastes like licorice and is used in cooking

is the fuller term that mentions fruit origin and Asian tree source
aniseed
vsstar aniseed
1 6.5

A small brown seed with a sweet licorice taste used to flavor food and drinks

is a star-shaped fruit spice from an Asian tree rather than small seeds
anise seed
vsstar aniseed
1 4.5

A small seed with a sweet licorice taste that people use to flavor food and drinks

is a star-shaped fruit spice from an Asian tree rather than individual seeds
Chinese anise
vsstar aniseed
5.6

A star-shaped spice pod with a strong sweet smell used in cooking

is the neutral botanical description focusing on fruit from a small tree

Surface Forms

star aniseed singular
star aniseeds plural

Morphology

star + aniseed

The compound is compositional: 'star' signals the star-shaped form and 'aniseed' names the licorice-flavored seed, so the overall meaning of a star-shaped anise spice is directly derivable from the constituents. This is a transparent noun compound found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the referent.

Etymology

Star aniseed is named for the dried fruit's shape: each pod looks like a small star with aniseed seeds in each point. That picture and the spice's sweet, 'licorice-like' smell help explain why it is used in cooking and traditional medicine today.