---
title: saffron — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «saffron» in the school dictionary: Saffron is a spice made from the dried red-orange threads (stigmas) of a crocus flower; it gives food a golden colour and a special taste. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# saffron

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Saffron, pinch, It, Buddhist monks, Gran, Spanish paella · **What happens:** be, make, dry, give, turn, pinch · **To what, where:** spice, dried orange threads, food, deep orange yellow colour, rice, saffron

<!-- .vabout -->
«saffron» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [saffron in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/saffron.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saffron is a spice made from the dried red-orange threads (stigmas) of a crocus flower; it gives food a golden colour and a special taste.

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:m1:1
# text = Saffron is a spice made from the dried red-orange threads (stigmas) of a crocus flower; it gives food a golden colour and a special taste.
1	Saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	spice	spice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
8	dried	dry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	amod	_	_
9	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	orange	orange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	threads	thread	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
13	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	stigmas	stigma	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	14	punct	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	crocus	crocus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
19	flower	flower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	22	punct	_	_
21	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
22	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
23	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
24	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
25	golden	golden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	26	amod	_	_
26	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
27	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	30	cc	_	_
28	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	30	det	_	_
29	special	special	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
30	taste	taste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Saffron | a spice |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | participle |  | a spice *not said here* |  | the dried orange threads and stigmas of a crocus flower |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V PP»: agent=Asset from thread=Material |
| 3 | **dry** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **give** | present | Saffron | food |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent food=Recipient colour=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saffron is also a deep orange-yellow colour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:m2:1
# text = Saffron is also a deep orange-yellow colour.
1	Saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
5	deep	deep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
6	orange	orange	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	yellow	yellow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Saffron | a deep orange yellow colour |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pinch of saffron turned the rice golden yellow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x1:1
# text = A pinch of saffron turned the rice golden yellow.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pinch	pinch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	rice	rice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	golden	golden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	yellow	yellow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | past | a pinch of saffron | the rice |  |  |  | yellow *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent rice=Theme |
| 2 | **pinch** |  |  | saffron |  |  |  |  | nom pinch «state transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saffron comes from the crocus flower.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x2:1
# text = Saffron comes from the crocus flower.
1	Saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	comes	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	crocus	crocus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	flower	flower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | Saffron |  |  | the crocus flower |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from flower=Initial\_Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It takes about 150 flowers to make one gram of saffron.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x3:1
# text = It takes about 150 flowers to make one gram of saffron.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	about	about	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	150	150	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	flowers	flower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	gram	gram	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | present | It | 150 flowers |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent flower=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | one gram of saffron |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset gram=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x4:1
# text = Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.
1	Saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	5	advmod	_	_
5	expensive	expensive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	spice	spice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Saffron | the expensive spice |  | the world |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Buddhist monks wore saffron robes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x5:1
# text = The Buddhist monks wore saffron robes.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Buddhist	buddhist	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	monks	monk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	wore	wear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	robes	robe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | past | the Buddhist monks | saffron robes |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent robe=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Gran baked saffron buns from Cornwall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x6:1
# text = Gran baked saffron buns from Cornwall.
1	Gran	Gran	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	baked	bake	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	buns	bun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Cornwall	Cornwall	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bake** | past | Gran | saffron buns |  | Cornwall |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP.product PP.material»: agent=Agent bun=Product from cornwall=Material |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Spanish paella often has saffron in it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x7:1
# text = Spanish paella often has saffron in it.
1	Spanish	Spanish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	paella	paella	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	often	often	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Spanish paella | saffron |  | saffron |  | often *property* | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent saffron=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She puts it on, ties a saffron-colored kerchief round her neck, and then the gown looks whiter.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:saffron:x8:1
# text = She puts it on, ties a saffron-colored kerchief round her neck, and then the gown looks whiter.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	puts	put	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	ties	tie	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
8	saffron	saffron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	colored	color	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	amod	_	_
11	kerchief	kerchief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
12	round	round	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	neck	neck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
17	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	20	advmod	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	gown	gown	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
20	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
21	whiter	white	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	20	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put on** | present | She | it |  |  |  |  | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent it=Goal |
| 2 | **tie** | present | She *not said here* | a colored kerchief |  |  |  | round her neck | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent kerchief=Patient |
| 3 | **color** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn coloring-24 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **look** | present | the gown |  |  |  | then | white *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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