Dictionary entry

Saracen

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Sar″a‐cen (?), 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.

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