Category:Saffron

Saf"fron, n. Etym: [oe. saffran, f. safran; cf. It. zafferano, sp. Azafran, pg. açafrao; all fr. Ar. & per. za' faran.]

1. (bot.)

Defn: 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 autumnate) of Europe, resembling saffron. -- saffron wood (bot.), the yellowish wood of a south african tree (elæodendron croceum); also, the tree itself. -- saffron yellow, a shade of yellow like that obtained from the Stigmas of the true saffron (crocus sativus).

Saffron Saf"fron, a.

Defn: having the color of the stigmas of saffron flowers; deep Orange-yellow; as, a saffron face; a saffron streamer.

Saffron Saf"fron, v. t.

Defn: 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.

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Saffron - Heb. karkom, Arab. zafran (i.e., "yellow"), mentioned only in Song of Songs 4:13, Song of Songs 4:14; 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 traveling cookery, a very small pinch of it giving not only a rich yellow colour but an agreeable flavour to a dish of rice or to an insipid stew."