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) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
indigo
adj 1: having a color between blue and violet; "indigo flowers"
n 1: a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically [syn:
{anil}, {indigo}, {indigotin}]
2: deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves
and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye
[syn: {indigo}, {indigo plant}, {Indigofera tinctoria}]
3: a blue-violet color
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