Crocus sativus
The name of the genus is derived from the Greek κρόκος ("krokos"). This, in turn, is probably a loan word from a Semitic language, related to Hebrew כרכום "karkōm", Aramaic ܟܟܘܪܟܟܡܡܐ "kurkama", and Arabic "kurkum", which mean "saffron" ("Crocus sativus"), "saffron yellow" or turmeric (see "Curcuma"). The word ultimately traces back to the Sanskrit "kunkumam" () for "saffron". The English name is a learned 16th-century adoption from the Latin, but Old English already had "croh" "saffron".