madder

madder
    n 1: Eurasian herb having small yellow flowers and red roots
         formerly an important source of the dye alizarin [syn:
         {madder}, {Rubia tinctorum}]
    v 1: color a moderate to strong red
    

Mad \Mad\, a. [Compar. {Madder}; superl. {Maddest}.] [AS. gem?d,
   gem[=a]d, mad; akin to OS. gem?d foolish, OHG. gameit, Icel.
   mei?a to hurt, Goth. gam['a]ids weak, broken. ?.]
   1. Disordered in intellect; crazy; insane.
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            I have heard my grandsire say full oft,
            Extremity of griefs would make men mad. --Shak.
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   2. Excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason;
      inflamed by violent or uncontrollable desire, passion, or
      appetite; as, to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred; mad
      against political reform.
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            It is the land of graven images, and they are mad
            upon their idols.                     --Jer. 1. 88.
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            And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted
            them even unto strange cities.        --Acts xxvi.
                                                  11.
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   3. Proceeding from, or indicating, madness; expressing
      distraction; prompted by infatuation, fury, or extreme
      rashness. "Mad demeanor." --Milton.
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            Mad wars destroy in one year the works of many years
            of peace.                             --Franklin.
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            The mad promise of Cleon was fulfilled. --Jowett
                                                  (Thucyd.).
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   4. Extravagant; immoderate. "Be mad and merry." --Shak.
      "Fetching mad bounds." --Shak.
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   5. Furious with rage, terror, or disease; -- said of the
      lower animals; as, a mad bull; esp., having hydrophobia;
      rabid; as, a mad dog.
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   6. Angry; out of patience; vexed; as, to get mad at a person.
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   7. Having impaired polarity; -- applied to a compass needle.
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   {Like mad}, like a mad person; in a furious manner; as, to
      run like mad. --L'Estrange.

   {To run mad}.
      (a) To become wild with excitement.
      (b) To run wildly about under the influence of
          hydrophobia; to become affected with hydrophobia.

   {To run mad after}, to pursue under the influence of
      infatuation or immoderate desire. "The world is running
      mad after farce." --Dryden.
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Madder \Mad"der\ (m[a^]d"d[~e]r), n. [OE. mader, AS. maedere;
   akin to Icel. ma[eth]ra.] (Bot.)
   A plant of the genus {Rubia} ({Rubia tinctorum}). The root is
   much used in dyeing red, and formerly was used in medicine.
   It is cultivated in France and Holland. See {Rubiaceous}.
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   Note: Madder is sometimes used in forming pigments, as lakes,
         etc., which receive their names from their colors, such
         as {madder yellow}.
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   {Field madder}, an annual European weed ({Sherardia
      arvensis}) resembling madder.

   {Indian madder}, the East Indian {Rubia cordifolia}, used in
      the East for dyeing; -- called also {munjeet}.

   {Wild madder}, {Rubia peregrina} of Europe; also the {Galium
      Mollugo}, a kind of bedstraw.
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