from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Indian \In"di*an\ (?; 277), a. [From India, and this fr. Indus,
the name of a river in Asia, L. Indus, Gr. ?, OPers. Hindu,
name of the land on the Indus, Skr. sindhu river, the Indus.
Cf. {Hindu}.]
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1. Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies,
or, sometimes, to the West Indies.
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2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of
America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.
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3. Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian
meal, Indian bread, and the like. [U.S.]
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{Indian} bay (Bot.), a lauraceous tree ({Persea Indica}).
{Indian bean} (Bot.), a name of the catalpa.
{Indian berry}. (Bot.) Same as {Cocculus indicus}.
{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
Avicenn[ae]}). 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 ({Ipom[oe]a 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
{Aris[ae]ma}. {Aris[ae]ma 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) See {Euxanthin}.
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