Word of the Day: Saffron
saffron
saf-fron / săf-rən
noun
1. a plant, Crocus sativus, with purple or white flowers and orange stigmas, native to the Eastern Mediterranean region
It is filled with saffron, poppies, and other soothing plants; so lay your little head on it to-night, sleep sweetly without a dream, and wake to-morrow without a pain.
From “Eight Cousins” by Louisa May Alcott, 1832 – 1888
2. the dried stigmas of Crocus sativus, used as a spice for cooking and as a coloring
This Bouillabaisse a noble dish is –
A sort of soup or broth, or brew,
Or hotchpotch of all sorts of fishes,
That Greenwich never could outdo;
Green herbs, red peppers, mussels, saffron,
Soles, onions, garlic, roach, and dace;
All these you eat at Terre’s tavern, In that one dish of Bouillabaisse.
From “The Ballad of Bouillabaisse” by William Makepeace Thackeray, 1811 – 1863
3. a color that is orange to yellow orange
The long night wore away, and presently the sky was streaked with the pink and saffron of the coming dawn.
From “The Doomsman” by Van Tassel Sutphen, 1861 – 1945
