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saffron
8 dictionary results for: Saffron
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
saf·fron 
[saf-ruhn] Pronunciation Key
[saf-ruhn] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | Also called vegetable gold. a crocus, Crocus sativus, having showy purple flowers. |
| 2. | an orange-colored condiment consisting of its dried stigmas, used to color and flavor foods. |
| 3. | Also, saffron yellow. yellow-orange. |
[Origin: 1150–1200; ME saffran, saffron OF safran < ML saffrānum < Ar zaʿfarān]
]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| saf·fron
(sāf'rən) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English safroun, from Old French safran, from Medieval Latin safrānum, from Arabic za'farān.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
saffron
saffron
c.1200, from O.Fr. safran (12c.), from M.L. safranum (cf. It. zafferano, Sp. azafran), ultimately from Arabic za'faran, of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| saffron | |
noun | |
| 1. | Old World crocus having purple or white flowers with aromatic pungent orange stigmas used in flavoring food |
| 2. | dried pungent stigmas of the Old World saffron crocus |
| 3. | a shade of yellow tinged with orange [syn: orange yellow] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Saffron
Saf"fron\ (?; 277), n. [OE. saffran, F. safran; cf. It. zafferano, Sp. azafran, Pg. a[,c]afr[~a]o; all fr. Ar. & Per. za' far[=a]n.]1. (Bot.) A bulbous iridaceous plant (Crocus sativus) having blue flowers with large yellow stigmas. See Crocus. 2. The aromatic, pungent, dried stigmas, usually with part of the stile, of the Crocus sativus. Saffron is used in cookery, and in coloring confectionery, liquors, varnishes, etc., and was formerly much used in medicine. 3. An orange or deep yellow color, like that of the stigmas of the Crocus sativus. Bastard saffron, Dyer's saffron. (Bot.) See Safflower. Meadow saffron (Bot.), a bulbous plant (Colchichum autumnale) of Europe, resembling saffron. Saffron wood (Bot.), the yellowish wood of a South African tree (El[ae]odendron croceum); also, the tree itself. Saffron yellow, a shade of yellow like that obtained from the stigmas of the true saffron (Crocus sativus).
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Saffron
Saf"fron\ (?; 277), a. Having the color of the stigmas of saffron flowers; deep orange-yellow; as, a saffron face; a saffron streamer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Saffron
Saf"fron\, v. t. To give color and flavor to, as by means of saffron; to spice. [Obs.] And in Latyn I speak a wordes few, To saffron with my predication. --Chaucer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Saffron
Heb. karkom, Arab. zafran (i.e., "yellow"), mentioned only in Cant. 4:13, 14; the Crocus sativus. Many species of the crocus are found in Palestine. The pistils and stigmata, from the centre of its flowers, are pressed into "saffron cakes," common in the East. "We found," says Tristram, "saffron a very useful condiment in travelling cookery, a very small pinch of it giving not only a rich yellow colour but an agreable flavour to a dish of rice or to an insipid stew."
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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