indigo Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically
    anil; indigotin.
  2. noun deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye
    indigo plant; Indigofera tinctoria.
  3. noun a blue-violet color
  4. adjective satellite having a color between blue and violet
    • indigo flowers

WordNet

In"di*go noun
Etymology
F. indigo, Sp. indigo, indico, L. indicum indigo, fr. Indicus Indian. See Indian.
Wordforms
plural Indigoes
Definitions
  1. A kind of deep blue, one of the seven prismatic colors.
  2. (Chem.) A blue dyestuff obtained from several plants belonging to very different genera and orders; as, the woad, Isatis tinctoria, Indigofera tinctoria, I. Anil, Nereum tinctorium, etc. 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. ✍ 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.
In"di*go adjective
Definitions
  1. Having the color of, pertaining to, or derived from, indigo.

Webster 1913