The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
(Bot.) A bulbous iridaceous plant ( Crocus sativus) having blue flowers with large yellow stigmas. See Crocus.
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.
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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).
Usage examples of "saffron yellow".
The candles threw a soft yellow haze over the four-poster bed with its green velvet duvet, the mounds of pillows, forest-green, crimson, saffron yellow.
The plant dyes you painted with yesterday the saffron yellow and turusole purple they're both safe.
She wore a saffron yellow bikini and her hair was hidden by a big yellow towel.
His face was smooth, slightly puffed with full jaws, his eyes saffron yellow, his mouth well curved over perfect teeth, his smile constant but never touching his eyes.
Some were marked with great splotches, red as arterial blood, others were saffron yellow, and others tall and attenuated, with stems like macaroni.
Slumped on the sofa, in a rucked-up amber mini-skirt, and a saffron yellow jersey, with her tousled tawny hair and her tear-streaked face, Sarah should have been the epitome of desirability.