crocus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. 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

WordNet

Cro"cus noun
Etymology
L., saffron, fr. Gr. cf. Heb. karkm, Ar. kurkum, Skr. kukuma.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of iridaceous plants, with pretty blossoms rising separately from the bulb or corm. C. vernus is one of the earliest of spring-blooming flowers; C. sativus produces the saffron, and blossoms in the autumn.
  2. (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 or colcothar) thus produced from salts of irron, and used as a polishing powder.

Webster 1913