safflower
(ˈsæflaʊə(r))
Forms: α. 6 corruptly samfleure, -floure; β. 7 saf(f)lore, (erron. salfore), 8 saf(f)lor; γ. 7 safflowr, saflower, 8 saff-flower, 8– safflower; δ. 8–9 safflow.
[a. Du. saffloer(s = G. safflor, a. OF. saffleur, safour, a. early It. saffiore, also asfiore, asfrole, zaffrole, etc. (Yule). The ultimate source is obscure: the Arabic ﻋu{cced}fur is prob. a foreign word assimilated to a{cced}far yellow.
The form has been influenced by association with the words saffron (F. safran) and flower (It. fiore, F. fleur); although safflower is a wholly different plant from saffron, the former was often used as a substitute for the latter in medicine, whence the name bastard saffron.]
1. The dried petals of the Carthamus tinctorius (see 2), also the (red) dye produced from these petals. Used in the preparation of rouge.
| α 1583 L. M[ascall] tr. Bk. Dyeing 20 Yee shall take one pound of samfleure and let it soke halfe a day [etc.]. Ibid., Samfloure. |
| β 1642 Rates Merchandizes 47 Saflore the pound 00. 01. 00. 1662 Stat. Ireland (1678) 658 Safflore. 1777 G. Forster Voy. round World II. 588 Safflor, which the Portuguese employ to colour their eatables yellow. |
| γ 166. Petty Hist. Dyeing in Sprat Hist. Roy. Soc. (1667) 298 This Mather..dyeth on Cloth a colour the neerest to our Bow-dye,..the like whereof Safflowr doth in Silk. 1799 G. Smith Laboratory I. 385 Then take the safflower out of the bag. 1836–41 Brande Chem. (ed. 5) 1113 Safflower contains two colouring matters, a yellow and a red. 1877 O'Neill in Encycl. Brit. VII. 571/2 Specimens of mummy cloth of a reddish colour appeared to have been dyed with safflower. |
2. The thistle-like plant
Carthamus tinctorius, extensively cultivated in Southern Europe, Egypt, India, and China for the dye obtained from its flowers (see 1); the seeds yield an oil used in cooking, making margarine, in lamps, etc.
| β 1762 tr. Busching's Syst. Geog. V. 536 Woad, saflor, or wild-saffron, and garden-fruits. |
| γ 1682 S. Wilson Acc. Carolina 18 Sumack growes in great abundance naturally, so undoubtedly would Woad, Madder and Sa-Flower, if planted. 1756 Compl. Body Husb. 535 Saff-flower, or Carthamus, is cultivated for the sake of its flower, as the Saffron is. 1900 Jrnl. Soc. Dyers XVI. 6 Other Philippine dye plants..are the sibucao, or sapan wood, the beri, or safflower [etc.]. 1974 Nature 13 Dec. 519/2 No work is at present supported at international level on oil seeds such as sunflower, safflower and rapeseed, although their oils are important in the diets of many developing countries. 1980 Holistic Health News (Berkeley, Calif. Holistic Health Center) Sept./Oct. 8/3 Mix together: 1 cup of oil, safflower works well. 1½ teaspoons of sea salt. |
| δ 1707 Mortimer Husb. 131 In Oxfordshire, about Norton and Ashton, grows a sort of herb that they call Safflow or Bastard Saffron, which the Dyers use for the dying of Scarlet. 1885 Stallybrass tr. Hehn's Wand. Plants & Anim. 201 The Safflow or Zaffer..a kind of thistle native to the East Indies. |
3. attrib.| 1812 J. Smyth Pract. of Customs (1821) 204 The Seeds of the Safflower Plant. 1857 E. Balfour Cycl. India 1631 Safflower Oil. Ibid., Safflower Seed. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. b7 Safflower seed oil has especially good stability for cooking and frying oils. 1971 H. McCloy Question of Time i. iii. 28 Margarine made with safflower oil (butter is as bad for arteries as eggs). |