saffron vs tan

saffron

adj
  • Having an orange-yellow colour. 

verb
  • To add saffron to (a food), for taste, colour etc. 

  • To dye (a fabric, garment, etc.) with a saffron-based dye. 

  • To give a saffron colour to (something). 

  • To colour (a metal or wooden surface) with a gilding product containing saffron. 

  • To embellish. 

noun
  • An orange-yellow colour, the colour of a lion's pelt. 

  • A spice (seasoning) and colouring agent made from the stigma and part of the style of the plant, sometimes or formerly also used as a dye and insect repellent. 

  • The plant Crocus sativus, a crocus. 

tan

adj
  • Yellowish-brown. 

  • Having dark skin as a result of exposure to the sun or an artificial process intended to mimic this effect. 

verb
  • To change an animal hide into leather by soaking it in tannic acid. To work as a tanner. 

  • To kill by gun, to shoot. 

  • To spank or beat. 

  • To change to a tan colour due to exposure to the sun. 

noun
  • Synonym of picul, particularly in Cantonese contexts. 

  • A yellowish-brown colour. 

  • A twig or small switch. 

  • A darkening of the skin resulting from exposure to sunlight or similar light sources. 

  • An Armenian drink made of yoghurt and water similar to airan and doogh 

  • The bark of an oak or other tree from which tannic acid is obtained. 

num
  • The second cardinal number two, formerly used in Celtic areas, especially Cumbria and parts of Yorkshire, for counting sheep, and stitches in knitting. 

How often have the words saffron and tan occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )