noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S AE1 F L AW2 ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
thistlelike Eurasian plant widely grown for its red or orange flower heads and seeds that yield a valuable oil
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: false saffron, Carthamus tinctorius
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: herb, herbaceous plant
History
Etymology
From Middle French safleur; originally from Arabic أَصْفَر (ʔaṣfar, “yellow”) but influenced by safran (“saffron”) and fleur (“flower”).
Across languages
Translations
66 source translations are retained for this English entry.
