Etymology

saffron

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Today it means: A plant of species Crocus sativus, a crocus. Full definition →

Middle English saffron ← Old French safran ← Medieval Latin safranum
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The story

  1. Aramaicצפר
  2. Arabicزَعْفَرَان (zaʕfarān)
  3. Medieval Latinsafranum
  4. Old Frenchsafran
  5. Middle Englishsaffron
  6. English todaysaffron

Inherited from Middle English saffron, borrowed from Old French safran, a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin safranum, borrowed from Arabic زَعْفَرَان (zaʕfarān), from Aramaic צפר.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.