saffron : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: saffron	by the DICT Development Group
5 results for saffron
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
saffron n Old World crocus having purple or white flowers with aromatic pungent orange stigmas used in flavoring food Synonym(s): saffron, saffron crocus, Crocus sativus dried pungent stigmas of the Old World saffron crocus a shade of yellow tinged with orange Synonym(s): orange yellow, saffron
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Saffron \Saf"fron\ (?; 277), n. [OE. saffran, F. safran; cf. It. zafferano, Sp. azafran, Pg. a[cced]afr[atil]o; all fr. Ar. & Per. za' far[be]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[91]odendron croceum}); also, the tree itself. {Saffron yellow}, a shade of yellow like that obtained from the stigmas of the true saffron ({Crocus sativus}).
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Saffron \Saf"fron\ (?; 277), a. Having the color of the stigmas of saffron flowers; deep orange-yellow; as, a saffron face; a saffron streamer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
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.
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
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."