sarsaparilla

From Spanish zarzaparrilla. The first element may ultimately derive from Basque; see Spanish zarza (“blackberry bush”) for more. The usual pronunciation of the first part of the word as /sæsp-/ or /sɑːsp-/ may be due to dissimilatory loss of the first of two r sounds (compare governor /ˈɡʌvənɚ/ and February /ˈfɛb.juˌɛɹi/). Occasionally this word is pronounced with a schwa between the s and the p, or without a schwa between the p and the r.