woad Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a blue dyestuff obtained from the woad plant
  2. noun any of several herbs of the genus Isatis

WordNet

Woad noun
Etymology
OE. wod, AS. wad; akin to D. weede, G. waid, OHG. weit, Dan. vaid, veid, Sw. veide, L. vitrum.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) An herbaceous cruciferous plant (Isatis tinctoria). It was formerly cultivated for the blue coloring matter derived from its leaves.
  2. A blue dyestuff, or coloring matter, consisting of the powdered and fermented leaves of the Isatis tinctoria. It is now superseded by indigo, but is somewhat used with indigo as a ferment in dyeing.
    Their bodies . . . painted with woad in sundry figures. Milton.

Webster 1913