indigo

Meaning

Noun

1. A purplish-blue colour.
2. An indigo-colored dye obtained from certain plants (indigo plant or woad), or a similar synthetic dye.
3. An indigo plant, such as from species in genera Indigofera, Amorpha (false indigo), Baptisia (wild indigo), and Psorothamnus and Dalea (indigo bush).

Adj

having a deep purplish-blue colour

Synonyms

indigo plant

indigotin

blue

anil

bluing

indigo blue

Indigofera tinctoria

aniline blue

indigo dye

cerulean

azure

indigo carmine

dye

light blue

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/

Etymology

16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία (Indía). Doublet of Indic.