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saracen

Anciently, an Arab; later, a Mussulman; in the middle ages, the common term among Christians in Europe for a Mohammedan hostile to the crusaders.

(Science: botany) Saracen's consound, a kind of ragewort (senecio Saracenicus), anciently used to heal wounds.

Origin: l. Saracenus perhaps fr. Ar. Sharqi, pl. Sharqiin, Oriental Eastern, fr. Sharaga to rise, said of the sun: cf. F. Sarrasin. Cf. Sarcenet, Sarrasin, Sirocco.