Saffron. (yellow). Song of Solomon 4:14. Saffron has, from the earliest times, been in high esteem as a perfume. "It was used," says Rosenmuller, "for the same purposes as the modern pot-pourri." The word saffron is derived from the Arabic zafran, "yellow". (The saffron, (Crocus sativus), is a kind of crocus of the iris family. It is used its a medicine, as a flavoring, and as a yellow dye. Homer, Virgil and Milton refer to its beauty in the landscape. It abounds in Palestine. The name, saffron, is usually applied only to the stigmas and part of the style, which are plucked out and dried. - Editor).