While discussing various candies and their origins the other day with a friend, he proposed that “licorice” came from “delicious” or “lick”. Or both. Then it was proposed that it had something to do with where it came from. So. Anybody?
Licorice is a medicinal herb (Glycyrrhiza glabra). It is/was used to treat coughs and lung problems long before they started to make candy of it.
Glycyrrhiza = Greek for "sweet root’. Nothing to do with licking 
We certainly hope that anise has similarly non-sound-alike origins.
Wild Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) is common in the western U.S. The root is supposed to have a sweet licorice flavor. The few roots I’ve tasted were merely rooty tasting. Flavor probably depends on the soil type.
Being rather naive, I was surprised to learn that the licorice that I ate as a child (and that my mother thought was “good for me”) is just a sugary jelly flavoured with real (or more likely today synthetic) licorice herb.
Yabob - I was most amused!
Redboss