Anil

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Anil \An"il\, n. [F. anil, Sp. an[imac]l, or Pg. anil; all fr.
     Ar. an-n[imac]l, for al-n[imac]l the indigo plant, fr. Skr.
     n[imac]la dark blue, n[imac]l[imac] indigo, indigo plant. Cf.
     {Lilac}.] (Bot.)
     A West Indian plant ({Indigofera anil}), one of the original
     sources of indigo; also, the indigo dye.


     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  anil
       n 1: a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically [syn:
            {indigo}, {indigotin}]
       2: shrub of West Indies and South America that is a source of
          indigo dye [syn: {Indigofera suffruticosa}, {Indigofera
          anil}]