[syn: Indian, Amerind, Amerindic, Native American]
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.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies,
or, sometimes, to the West Indies.
[1913 Webster]
2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of
America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.
[1913 Webster]
3. Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian
meal, Indian bread, and the like. [U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Indian \In"di*an\ (?; 277), n.
1. A native or inhabitant of India.
[1913 Webster]
2. One of the aboriginal inhabitants of America; -- so called
originally from the supposed identity of America with
India.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Indian
adj 1: of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East
Indies or their peoples or languages or cultures; "the
Indian subcontinent"; "Indian saris"
2: of or pertaining to American Indians or their culture or
languages; "Native American religions"; "Indian arrowheads"
[syn: Indian, Amerind, Amerindic, Native American]
n 1: a member of the race of people living in America when
Europeans arrived [syn: Indian, American Indian, Red
Indian]
2: a native or inhabitant of India
3: any of the languages spoken by Amerindians [syn: Amerind,
Amerindian language, American-Indian language, American
Indian, Indian]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
45 Moby Thesaurus words for "Indian":
American Indian, Amerind, Antarctic, Arctic, Atlantic,
Australian aborigine, Bushman, Caucasian, Malayan, Mister Charley,
Mongolian, Negrillo, Negrito, Negro, Oriental, Pacific, Red Indian,
WASP, black, black man, blackfellow, boy, brown man, burrhead,
colored person, coon, darky, gook, honky, jigaboo, jungle bunny,
nigger, niggra, ofay, paleface, pygmy, red man, redskin, slant-eye,
spade, the Man, white, white man, whitey, yellow man
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):
INDIANS. The aborigines of this country are so called.
2. In general, Indians have no political rights in the United States;
they cannot vote at the general elections for officers, nor hold office. In
New York they are considered as citizens and not as aliens, owing allegiance
to the government and entitled to its protection. 20 John. 188, 633. But it
was ruled that the Cherokee nation in Georgia was a distinct community. 6
Pet. 515. See 8 Cowen, 189; 9 Wheat. 673; 14 John. 181, 332 18 John. 506.