safranin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of a class of chiefly red organic dyes
    safranine; saffranine.

WordNet

Saf"ra*nin noun
Definitions
  1. (Chem.) (a) An orange-red dyestuff extracted from the saffron. R. (b) A red dyestuff extracted from the safflower, and formerly used in dyeing wool, silk, and cotton pink and scarlet; -- called also Spanish red, China lake, and carthamin. (c) An orange-red dyestuff prepared from certain nitro compounds of creosol, and used as a substitute for the safflower dye.

Webster 1913