Azafran
/ˈsæfrən/noun
A spice made from the dried stigmas of the crocus flower, used for flavoring and coloring food.
Did you know?Saffron’s English name ultimately comes through Arabic and Latin from a much older word family tied to the crocus, and medieval trade made it so valuable it was treated like liquid gold.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ker-
“horn, tip, or point”
Ancient Greek
Greek
krokos
“crocus, saffron crocus”
Arabic
Arabic
zaʿfarān
“saffron”
Medieval Latin
Latin
safranum
“saffron”
Old French
Old French
safran
“saffron”
Modern English
English
saffron
“the spice obtained from the crocus flower”