saracen

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: Sar=a=cen

CIDE DICTIONARY

saracen, n. [L. Saracenus perhaps fr. Ar. sharqi, pl. sharqiīn, Oriental, Eastern, fr. sharaqa to rise, said of the sun: cf. F. sarrasin. Cf. Sarcenet, Sarrasin, Sirocco.].

 Anciently, an Arab; later, a Mussulman; in the Middle Ages, the common term among Christians in Europe for a Mohammedan hostile to the crusaders.  [1913 Webster]

Saracens' consound (Bot.), a kind of ragwort (Senecio Saracenicus), anciently used to heal wounds.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

saracen, n. & adj. hist.
--n.
1 an Arab or Muslim at the time of the Crusades.
2 a nomad of the Syrian and Arabian desert.
--adj. of the Saracens.

Idiom

Saracen corn Brit. archaic buckwheat. Saracen's head the head of a Saracen or Turk as a heraldic charge or inn-sign.

Derivative

Saracenic adj.

Etymology

ME f. OF sar(r)azin, sar(r)acin f. LL Saracenus f. late Gk Sarakenos perh. f. Arab. sarki eastern