CROCUS

noun (plural ~es) Etymology: Middle English, the saffron plant, from Latin, from Greek krokos, of Semitic origin; akin to Akkadian kurkānū saffron Date: 14th century 1. any of a genus ( Crocus ) of herbs of the iris family developing from corms and having solitary long-tubed flowers and slender linear leaves, saffron 1a, a dark red ferric oxide used for polishing metals