Safflower
//ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil. countable, uncountable
"Safflower is unusual: if you add alkalis to the dye broth it is yellow; with acids it goes a beautiful crimson pink which is the colour of the original ‘red’ tape once tied around legal documents in England […]."
- 2 thistlelike Eurasian plant widely grown for its red or orange flower heads and seeds that yield a valuable oil wordnet
Example
More examples"Safflower is unusual: if you add alkalis to the dye broth it is yellow; with acids it goes a beautiful crimson pink which is the colour of the original ‘red’ tape once tied around legal documents in England […]."
Etymology
From Middle French safleur; originally from Arabic أَصْفَر (ʔaṣfar, “yellow”) but influenced by safran (“saffron”) and fleur (“flower”).
Related phrases
More for "safflower"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.