From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Saracen \Sar"a*cen\, noun [L. Saracenus perhaps fr. Ar. sharqi, pl. sharqi[=i]n, 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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: (historically) a member of the nomadic people of the Syrian and Arabian deserts at the time of the Roman Empire
2: (when used broadly) any Arab
3: (historically) a Muslim who opposed the crusades
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