Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various perennial Eurasian herbs of the genus Crocus, having grasslike leaves and showy, variously colored flowers.
- noun Any of several other plants, such as the autumn crocus.
- noun A grayish to light reddish purple.
- noun A dark red powdered variety of iron oxide, Fe2O3, used as an abrasive for polishing.
- noun A coarse, loosely woven material like burlap, once used to make sacks for shipping saffron.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In old chem., a yellowish or reddish impure oxid of some of the metals: as, crocus antimonii or crocus metallorum, an impure oxid of antimony obtained by deflagration of natural sulphid of antimony with saltpeter; crocus Martis, oxid of iron left on heating sulphate of iron to redness in the air; crocus Veneris, red oxid of copper obtained by heating copper in the air.
- noun A plant of the genus Crocus.
- noun A genus of beautiful iridaceous plants, consisting of many hardy species, some of which are among the commonest ornaments of gardens.
- noun Saffron, obtained from plants of the genus Crocus. See
saffron . - noun A polishing-powder prepared from crystals of sulphate of iron, calcined in crucibles.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) 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. - noun (Chem.) 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 orcolcothar ) thus produced from salts of iron, and used as a polishing powder. - noun (Old Chem.) oxide of copper.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
perennial flowering plant (of the genusCrocus in theIridaceae family ).Saffron is obtained from thestamens of Crocus sativus. - noun Any of various similar flowering plants, such as the
autumn crocus and prairie crocus. - noun chemistry, obsolete A deep yellow
powder , theoxide of somemetal (especiallyiron ),calcined to a red or deep yellow colour.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun 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
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word crocus.
Examples
-
Saffron crocus is grown in the fields of Pampore, and in the autumn, the land is carpeted by the pale lavender flowers open to the sky.
-
Of the spring bulbs, the crocus are the earliest here.
-
Of course, the idea of crocus in January tickles a Michigan gardener is very very optimistic OK, an impossible dream, but we understand and envy your warmer climate!
-
The crocus are a surprise, the squirrels usually dig them up, but the thyme has covered them over, I think it protects them from those devils.
-
They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of our bulbous roots.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 13, No. 354, January 31, 1829 Various
-
Though science lay me by the heels, I'll assert that the crocus, which is a pioneer on the windy borderland of March, would not show its head except on the sounding of the hurdy-gurdy.
Journeys to Bagdad 1906
-
The world's most expensive spice is the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, which is native to Asia Minor.
-
The world's most expensive spice is the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus, which is native to Asia Minor.
-
Tridacnid calms such as crocus calm Tridacna crosea, giant clam T. gigas (VU), scaly calm T. squamosa (LR) and horse's hoof (Bear paw) clam Hippopus hippopus (LR) are found in some parts of the lagoon.
-
We therefore collected the silver, piece by piece, secreting it in "crocus" bags, which, when all was ready, we deposited in a capacious carry-all, into which we crowded.
ruzuzu commented on the word crocus
"5. In old chem., a yellowish or reddish impure oxid of some of the metals: as, crocus antimonii or crocus metallorum, an impure oxid of antimony obtained by deflagration of natural sulphid of antimony with saltpeter; crocus Martis, oxid of iron left on heating sulphate of iron to redness in the air; crocus Veneris, red oxid of copper obtained by heating copper in the air."
--Century Dictionary
February 11, 2011