crocus
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- any of numerous low-growing plants of the genus Crocus having slender grasslike leaves and white or yellow or purple flowers; native chiefly to the Mediterranean region but widely cultivated
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Cro′cus (krō′kŭs), noun
Origin: L., saffron, fr. Gr. κρόκος; cf. Heb. karkōm, Ar. kurkum, Skr. kuṅkuma.
1. Botany A genus of iridaceous plants, with pretty blossoms rising separately from the bulb or corm. Crocus vernus is one of the earliest of spring-blooming flowers; Crocus sativus produces the saffron, and blossoms in the autumn.
2. Chemistry A deep yellow powder; the oxide of some metal calcined to a red or deep yellow color; esp., the oxide of iron (Crocus of Mars or colcothar) thus produced from salts of iron, and used as a polishing powder.
Crocus of Venus Old Chem., oxide of copper.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54