Indigo

3 definitions found

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

  Indigo \In"di*go\, a.
     Having the color of, pertaining to, or derived from, indigo.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Indigo berry} (Bot.), the fruit of the West Indian shrub
        {Randia aculeata}, used as a blue dye.


  
     {Indigo bird} (Zool.), a small North American finch
        ({Cyanospiza cyanea}). The male is indigo blue in color.
        Called also {indigo bunting}.
  
     {Indigo blue}.
     (a) The essential coloring material of commercial indigo,
         from which it is obtained as a dark blue earthy powder,
         with a reddish luster, {C16H10N2O2}, which may be
         crystallized by sublimation. Indigo blue is also made
         from artificial amido cinnamic acid, and from artificial
         isatine; and these methods are of great commercial
         importance. Called also {indigotin}.
     (b) A dark, dull blue color like the indigo of commerce.
  
     {Indigo brown} (Chem.), a brown resinous substance found in
        crude indigo.
  
     {Indigo copper} (Min.), covellite.
  
     {Indigo green}, a green obtained from indigo.
  
     {Indigo plant} (Bot.), a leguminous plant of several species
        (genus {Indigofera}), from which indigo is prepared. The
        different varieties are natives of Asia, Africa, and
        America. Several species are cultivated, of which the most
        important are the {Indigofera tinctoria}, or {common
        indigo plant}, the {Indigofera Anil}, a larger species,
        and the {Indigofera disperma}.
  
     {Indigo purple}, a purple obtained from indigo.
  
     {Indigo red}, a dyestuff, isomeric with indigo blue, obtained
        from crude indigo as a dark brown amorphous powder.
  
     {Indigo snake} (Zool.), the gopher snake.
  
     {Indigo white}, a white crystalline powder obtained by
        reduction from indigo blue, and by oxidation easily
        changed back to it; -- called also {indigogen}.
  
     {Indigo yellow}, a substance obtained from indigo.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  Indigo \In"di*go\, n.; pl. {Indigoes}. [F. indigo, Sp. indigo,
     indico, L. indicum indigo, fr. Indicus Indian. See {Indian}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A kind of deep blue, one of the seven prismatic colors.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Chem.) A blue dyestuff obtained from several plants
        belonging to very different genera and orders, such as,
        the woad, {Isatis tinctoria} (family {Cruciferae}),
        {Indigofera suffroticosa}, {Indigofera tinctoria} (family
        {Leguminosae}), {Indigofera Anil}, {Nereum tinctorium},
        {Polygonum tinctorium} Ait. (family {Polygonaceae}), etc.;
        called also {natural indigo}. It is a dark blue earthy
        substance, tasteless and odorless, with a copper-violet
        luster when rubbed. Indigo does not exist in the plants as
        such, but is obtained by decomposition of the glycoside
        {indican}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: 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]
  
     {Chinese indigo} (Bot.), {Isatis indigotica}, a kind of woad.
        
  
     {Wild indigo} (Bot.), the American herb {Baptisia tinctoria}
        which yields a poor quality of indigo, as do several other
        species of the same genus.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  indigo
       n 1: a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically [syn:
            {anil}, {indigotin}]
       2: deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate
          leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of
          indigo dye [syn: {indigo plant}, {Indigofera tinctoria}]
       3: a blue-violet color
       [also: {indigoes} (pl)]