safflower

[saf-lou-er]

noun

a thistlelike composite plant, Carthamus tinctorius, native to the Old World, having finely toothed leaves and large, orange-red flower heads.

its dried florets, used medicinally or as a red dyestuff.

Origin of safflower

1575–85; < Dutch saffloer < Middle French safleur, alteration (assimilated to safran saffron and fleur flower) of Italian asfori < Arabic aṣfar yellow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for safflower

Historical Examples of safflower

The only crops which they object to grow are kusum or safflower and san-hemp.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India
R. V. Russell
Rose colour or pink, is given with safflower and lemon juice.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure
In botany, a genus of composite plants, the most important species of which is Carthamus tinctorius, the safflower.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
Chinese Rouge and Pink Saucers have much of the qualities of, and appear to be also prepared from, the safflower.
Field's Chromatography
George Field
Carthamine, kr′tha-min, n. a dye obtained in crystals by a chemical process from safflower.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for safflower

safflower

noun

a thistle-like Eurasian annual plant, Carthamus tinctorius, having large heads of orange-yellow flowers and yielding a dye and an oil used in paints, medicines, etc: family Asteraceae (composites)

a red dye used for cotton and for colouring foods and cosmetics, or a drug obtained from the florets of this plant

Also called: false saffron

Word Origin for safflower

C16: via Dutch saffloer or German safflor from Old French saffleur, from Early Italian saffiore, of uncertain origin. Influenced by saffron, flower

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012