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Webster 1913 Edition


Indian

In′di-an

(?; 277)
,
Adj.
[From
India
, and this fr.
Indus
, the name of a river in Asia, L.
Indus
, Gr. [GREEK], OPers.
Hindu
, name of the land on the Indus, Skr.
sindhu
river, the Indus. Cf.
Hindu
.]
1.
Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies, or, sometimes, to the West Indies.
2.
Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of America;
as,
Indian
wars; the
Indian
tomahawk.
3.
Made of maize or Indian corn;
as,
Indian
corn,
Indian
meal,
Indian
bread, and the like
.
[U.S.]
Indian
bay
(Bot.)
,
a lauraceous tree (
Persea Indica
).
Indian bean
(Bot.)
,
a name of the catalpa.
Indian berry
.
(Bot.)
Indian bread
.
(Bot.)
Same as
Cassava
.
Indian club
,
a wooden club, which is swung by the hand for gymnastic exercise.
Indian cordage
,
cordage made of the fibers of cocoanut husk.
Indian cress
(Bot.)
,
nasturtium. See
Nasturtium
, 2.
Indian cucumber
(Bot.)
,
a plant of the genus
Medeola
(
Medeola Virginica
), a common in woods in the United States. The white rootstock has a taste like cucumbers.
Indian currant
(Bot.)
,
a plant of the genus
Symphoricarpus
(
Symphoricarpus vulgaris
), bearing small red berries.
Indian dye
,
the puccoon.
Indian fig
.
(Bot.)
(a)
The banyan. See
Banyan
.
(b)
The prickly pear.
Indian file
,
single file; arrangement of persons in a row following one after another, the usual way among Indians of traversing woods, especially when on the war path.
Indian fire
,
a pyrotechnic composition of sulphur, niter, and realgar, burning with a brilliant white light.
Indian grass
(Bot.)
,
a coarse, high grass (
Chrysopogon nutans
), common in the southern portions of the United States; wood grass.
Gray.
Indian hemp
.
(Bot.)
(a)
A plant of the genus
Apocynum
(
Apocynum cannabinum
), having a milky juice, and a tough, fibrous bark, whence the name. The root it used in medicine and is both emetic and cathartic in properties.
(b)
The variety of common hemp (
Cannabis Indica
), from which hasheesh is obtained.
Indian mallow
(Bot.)
,
the velvet leaf (
Abutilon Avicennæ
). See
Abutilon
.
Indian meal
,
ground corn or maize.
[U.S.]
Indian millet
(Bot.)
,
a tall annual grass (
Sorghum vulgare
), having many varieties, among which are broom corn, Guinea corn, durra, and the Chinese sugar cane. It is called also
Guinea corn
. See
Durra
.
Indian ox
(Zool.)
,
the zebu.
Indian paint
.
See
Bloodroot
.
Indian paper
.
See
India paper
, under
India
.
Indian physic
(Bot.)
,
a plant of two species of the genus
Gillenia
(
Gillenia trifoliata
, and
Gillenia stipulacea
), common in the United States, the roots of which are used in medicine as a mild emetic; – called also
American ipecac
, and
bowman’s root
.
Gray.
Indian pink
.
(Bot.)
(a)
The Cypress vine (
Ipomœa Quamoclit
); – so called in the West Indies.
(b)
See
China pink
, under
China
.
Indian pipe
(Bot.)
,
a low, fleshy herb (
Monotropa uniflora
), growing in clusters in dark woods, and having scalelike leaves, and a solitary nodding flower. The whole plant is waxy white, but turns black in drying.
Indian plantain
(Bot.)
,
a name given to several species of the genus
Cacalia
, tall herbs with composite white flowers, common through the United States in rich woods.
Gray.
Indian poke
(Bot.)
,
a plant usually known as the
white hellebore
(
Veratrum viride
).
Indian pudding
,
a pudding of which the chief ingredients are Indian meal, milk, and molasses.
Indian purple
.
(a)
A dull purple color.
(b)
The pigment of the same name, intensely blue and black.
Indian red
.
(a)
A purplish red earth or pigment composed of a silicate of iron and alumina, with magnesia. It comes from the Persian Gulf. Called also
Persian red
.
(b)
See
Almagra
.
Indian rice
(Bot.)
,
a reedlike water grass. See
Rice
.
Indian shot
(Bot.)
,
a plant of the genus
Canna
(
Canna Indica
). The hard black seeds are as large as swan shot. See
Canna
.
Indian summer
,
in the United States, a period of warm and pleasant weather occurring late in autumn. See under
Summer
.
Indian tobacco
(Bot.)
,
a species of
Lobelia
. See
Lobelia
.
Indian turnip
(Bot.)
,
an American plant of the genus
Arisæma
.
Arisæma triphyllum
has a wrinkled farinaceous root resembling a small turnip, but with a very acrid juice. See
Jack in the Pulpit
, and
Wake-robin
.
Indian wheat
,
maize or Indian corn.
Indian yellow
.
(a)
An intense rich yellow color, deeper than gamboge but less pure than cadmium.
(b)

In′di-an

(?; 277)
,
Noun.
1.
A native or inhabitant of India.
2.
One of the aboriginal inhabitants of America; – so called originally from the supposed identity of America with India.

Webster 1828 Edition


Indian

IN'DIAN

,
Adj.
[from India, and this from Indus, the name of a river in Asia.] Pertaining to either of the Indies, East or West.

IN'DIAN

,
Noun.
A general name of any native of the Indies; as an East Indian, or West Indian. it is particularly applied to any native of the American continent.

Definition 2024


Indian

Indian

See also: indian, indián, and Indián

English

Adjective

Indian (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to India or its people; or (formerly) of the East Indies. [from 14th c.]
  2. (obsolete) Eastern; Oriental.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, volume 10:
      The morrow next apprear'd with purple hayre / Yet dropping fresh out of the Indian fount, / And bringing light into the heavens fayre [] .
  3. (dated) Of or relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. [from 16th c.]
    • 1879, Friedrich August Flückiger & al., Pharmacographia..., p. 346:
      The hardships of bark-collecting in the primeval forests of South America are of the severest kind, and undergone only by the half-civilized Indians and people of mixed race, in the pay of speculators or companies located in the towns.
  4. (Canada, US, of foods) Made with Indian corn or maize. [from 17th c.]
    Indian bread; Indian meal
  5. (chess) Designating any of various chess openings now characterised by black's attempt to control the board through knights and fianchettoed bishops rather than with a central pawn advance. [from 19th c.]

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

Indian (plural Indians)

  1. A person from India. [from 13th c.]
  2. A member of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (generally excluding the Aleut, Inuit, Metis, or Yupik). [from 16th c.]
    • 1819-1820, Washington Irving, The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon:
      We stigmatize the Indians, also, as cowardly and treacherous, because they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; but in this they are fully justified by their rude code of honor.
  3. (now rare, historical) An indigenous inhabitant of Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific islands. [from 18th c.]
  4. (Britain, colloquial) A meal at (or taken away from) an Indian restaurant. [from 20th c.]
    We're going out tonight for an Indian.
  5. (Britain, colloquial) An Indian restaurant.
    We're going down the Indian for a curry - wanna join us?

Synonyms

Translations

Proper noun

Indian

  1. (nonstandard) Any of the (unrelated) languages spoken by American Indians.
  2. (nonstandard, rare) Any language spoken by Indians in India, especially Hindi.
    • 1968 Anne Rider, A hilltop in hazard, page 51:
      [They said] 'Mutton can speak Indian', 'Mutton can see Kanchinjunga out of his bedroom window'[.]

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: prepared · support · bit · #824: Indian · produce · drawn · field

Interlingua

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /inˈdjan/

Adjective

Indian

  1. Indian (of India)
  2. Native American; Indian

indian

indian

See also: Indian, indián, and Indián

Swedish

Noun

indian c

  1. Indian, American Indian (A member of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas)