From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Indigo \In"di*go\, adjective Having the color of, pertaining to, or derived from, indigo.
{Indigo berry} (Bot.), the fruit of the West Indian shrub {Randia aculeata}, used as a blue dye.
{Indigo bird} (Zo["o]l.), a small North American finch ({Cyanospiza cyanea}). The male is indigo blue in color. Called also {indigo bunting}.
{Indigo blue}. (a) The essential coloring material of commercial indigo, from which it is obtained as a dark blue earthy powder, with a reddish luster, {C16H10N2O2}, which may be crystallized by sublimation. Indigo blue is also made from artificial amido cinnamic acid, and from artificial isatine; and these methods are of great commercial importance. Called also {indigotin}. (b) A dark, dull blue color like the indigo of commerce.
{Indigo brown} (Chem.), a brown resinous substance found in crude indigo.
{Indigo copper} (Min.), covellite.
{Indigo green}, a green obtained from indigo.
{Indigo plant} (Bot.), a leguminous plant of several species (genus {Indigofera}), from which indigo is prepared. The different varieties are natives of Asia, Africa, and America. Several species are cultivated, of which the most important are the {Indigofera tinctoria}, or {common indigo plant}, the {Indigofera Anil}, a larger species, and the {Indigofera disperma}.
{Indigo purple}, a purple obtained from indigo.
{Indigo red}, a dyestuff, isomeric with indigo blue, obtained from crude indigo as a dark brown amorphous powder.
{Indigo snake} (Zo["o]l.), the gopher snake.
{Indigo white}, a white crystalline powder obtained by reduction from indigo blue, and by oxidation easily changed back to it; -- called also {indigogen}.
{Indigo yellow}, a substance obtained from indigo.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Indigo \In"di*go\, noun; pl. {Indigoes}. [F. indigo, Sp. indigo, indico, L. indicum indigo, fr. Indicus Indian. See {Indian}.]
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, such as, the woad, {Isatis tinctoria} (family {Cruciferae}), {Indigofera suffroticosa}, {Indigofera tinctoria} (family {Leguminosae}), {Indigofera Anil}, {Nereum tinctorium}, {Polygonum tinctorium} Ait. (family {Polygonaceae}), etc.; called also {natural indigo}. 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}.
Note: 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.
{Chinese indigo} (Bot.), {Isatis indigotica}, a kind of woad.
{Wild indigo} (Bot.), the American herb {Baptisia tinctoria} which yields a poor quality of indigo, as do several other species of the same genus.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a blue dye obtained from plants or made synthetically [syn: {anil}, {indigotin}]
2: deciduous subshrub of southeastern Asia having pinnate leaves and clusters of red or purple flowers; a source of indigo dye [syn: {indigo plant}, {Indigofera tinctoria}]
3: a blue-violet color [also: {indigoes} (pl)]
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