1. indigo(n = noun.substance) anil, indigotin - a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically;
is a kind of dye, dyestuff
2. indigo(n = noun.plant) indigo plant, indigofera tinctoria - deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye;
is a kind of bush, shrub
is a member of genus indigofera, indigofera
has particulars: anil, indigofera anil, indigofera suffruticosa
3. indigo(n = noun.attribute) - a blue-violet color;
is a kind of reddish blue, violet
indigo(s = adj.all) - having a color between blue and violet; "indigo flowers"
1. A kind of deep blue, one of the seven prismatic colors. [1913 Webster]
2. A blue dyestuff obtained from several plants belonging to very different genera and orders, such as, the woad,
" Commercial indigo contains the essential coloring principle indigo blue or indigotine, with several other dyes; as, indigo red, indigo brown, etc., and various impurities. Indigo is insoluble in ordinary reagents, with the exception of strong sulphuric acid." [1913 Webster]
Having the color of, pertaining to, or derived from, indigo. [1913 Webster]
indigo, n. (pl. -os)
1 a a natural blue dye obtained from the indigo plant. b a synthetic form of this dye.
2 any plant of the genus Indigofera.
3 (in full indigo blue) a colour between blue and violet in the spectrum.
Derivative:
indigotic adj.
Etymology:
16th-c. indico (f. Sp.), indigo (f. Port.) f. L indicum f. Gk indikon INDIAN (dye)
N blueness, blue, garter-blue, watchet, ultramarine, smalt, cobalt, cyanogen, Prussian blue, syenite blue, bice, indigo, zaffer, lapis lazuli, sapphire, turquoise, indicolite, blueness, bluishness, bloom, blue, azure, cerulean, sky-blue, sky-colored, sky-dyed, cerulescent, powder blue, bluish, atmospheric, retiring, cold.
bastard indigo, blue false indigo, eastern indigo snake, false indigo, indigo bird, indigo broom, indigo bunting, indigo finch, indigo plant, indigo snake, indigo squill, white false indigo, wild indigo