saffraan, noun

Forms:
Also saffran.
Origin:
South African Dutch, DutchShow more South African Dutch (from Dutch zaffraan), saffron, yellow; named for its yellowish bark.
In full saffraanhout /-həʊt/ [South African Dutch (Dutch hout wood)] any of several trees with yellowish bark, particularly two trees of the Celastraceae: a. The tall evergreen tree Cassine crocea, bearing clusters of greenish flowers followed by white fruit; its hard light-brown timber; saffron. b. Cassine papillosa, also with defining word, bastersaffraan /ˈbastə(r)-/ [Afrikaans, baster see Baster adjective].
1819 C.G. Curtis Acct Col. of Cape of G.H. 72Saffran Hout..Close and hard.
1831 S. Afr. Almanac & Dir. 187The other woods most in request, and found in Albany are..Red and White Pear, Saffran.
1951 L.G. Green Grow Lovely 95He points to a large pear tree, a Dutch saffraan, as the oldest inhabitant of the Cape Town gardens.
1957 L.G. Green Beyond City Lights 70The Farm Bellingham..has a sweet safraan pear tree planted about two centuries ago.
1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 406Saffraanhout,..A tall forest tree..with a whitish bark which is covered with a resinous crust of gamboge or saffron (Afr.: saffraan)-yellow and gives the vernacular name to the plant...The wood is red, hard, finely close-grained, heavy, tough, and has been used for beams and planks and for furniture-making as well as for general wagon work...Several other tree species are often referred to as saffraanhout because of a yellowish colour but generally with a qualitative prefix to distinguish them from saffraanhout...Thus bastersaffraanhout and Transvaalsaffraanhout, the suffix word ‘hout’ being usually dropped.
1973 E. Prov. Herald 28 May 13A typical wagon of the Great Trek period would have had..wheel felloes of hard pear or saffraan.
1983 Rand Daily Mail 2 Dec. 7The old Saffraan pear tree..is one of the first trees ever to be cultivated in South Africa.
The tall evergreen tree Cassine crocea, bearing clusters of greenish flowers followed by white fruit; its hard light-brown timber; saffron.
Cassine papillosa, also with defining word, bastersaffraan /ˈbastə(r)-/ [Afrikaans, baster see Baster adjective].
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18191983