safflower

/ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)/

//ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"safflower" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“safflower” is uncommon English (frequency #82,746 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,746
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.

Corpus desk

Index EN-safflower · safflower · English

safflower · rank #82,746 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,746
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH saguaro

Nearest frequency peer: saguaro (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “safflower”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “safflower” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for safflower
PropertyValue
Headwordsafflower
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)/
Letters9
Frequency rank#82,746
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “safflower” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).safflowerfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “saguaro” (#82,747), “RWC” (#82,743), “salivate” (#82,749). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “safflower” is #82,746. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

safflower is uncommon English at frequency #82,746 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for safflower in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French safleur; originally from Arabic أَصْفَر (ʔaṣfar, “yellow”) but influenced by safran (“saffron”) and fleur (“flower”). The correct English form is safflower, spelled S-A-F-F-L-O-W-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how safflower appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Safflower is unusual: if you add alkalis to the dye broth it is yellow; with acids it goes a beautiful crimson pink which is the colour of the original ‘red’ tape once tied around legal documents in England […].

Etymology

From Middle French safleur; originally from Arabic أَصْفَر (ʔaṣfar, “yellow”) but influenced by safran (“saffron”) and fleur (“flower”).

Synonyms

bastard saffron

This word in other languages

alazor(Español)carthame des teinturiers(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "safflower"?
"safflower" is spelled S-A-F-F-L-O-W-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)/.
What does "safflower" mean?
As a noun, "safflower" means: A cultivated thistle-like plant, Carthamus tinctorius, family Asteraceae, now grown mainly for its oil.
How do you pronounce "safflower"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "safflower" is /ˈsæfˌlaʊə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "safflower"?
From Middle French safleur; originally from Arabic أَصْفَر (ʔaṣfar, “yellow”) but influenced by safran (“saffron”) and fleur (“flower”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "safflower", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Schoharie#82,758seconding#82,765Rastafari#82,708rangeland#82,706

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list