See Also: Indian law(encyclopedia)
Indian Oil(finance)
Indian(dictionary)
Indian gum(medicine)
indian(medicine)
Indian philosophy(encyclopedia)
Indian pipe(encyclopedia)
Plains Indian(encyclopedia)
Plateau Indian(encyclopedia)
Pueblo Indian(encyclopedia)

Indian (iou)



Indian noun & adjective. ME.
[from INDIA + -AN. See also INJUN.]
A. noun.
A native or inhabitant of the subcontinent of India or (in recent use) the Republic of India, in southern Asia. ME.
b. Hist. A European, esp. a Briton, (formerly) resident in the Indian subcontinent. Chiefly in old Indian, returned Indian. M18.
A member of any of the aboriginal peoples of America. Also more fully American Indian. Cf. INJUN. M16.
Apache Indian, Sioux Indian, etc. North American Indian, South American Indian, etc. Red Indian: see RED adjective.
b. Any of the hunted players in the children's game of cowboys and Indians. L19.
The language spoken by any American Indian people or (rare) any of the Indian peoples of Asia. M16.
ellipt.
a. Indian corn, tea, etc. M17.
b. An Indian meal; an Indian restaurant. colloq. L20.
a. An indigenous inhabitant of the Philippines, esp. one who has converted to Christianity. L17.
b. An indigenous inhabitant of Australia or New Zealand. M18-M19.
The southern constellation Indus. L17.
b. adjective.
Belonging to, made in, or originating from the subcontinent of India or the present Republic of India. Formerly also, oriental, Asian. LME.
Milton Toward the Springs Of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams. W. Roberts Of China..the Emperor and other Indian monarchs.
Of, belonging to, or characteristic of the aboriginal peoples of America. L16.
Wordsworth The shrouded Body..Answering with more than Indian fortitude.
Special collocations: Indian almond (the edible kernel of) a Malayan terminalia, Terminalia catappa, widely planted in the tropics. Indian bean tree a North American tree, Catalpa bignonioides (family Bignoniaceae), widely planted in urban parks in Europe. Indian cedar: see CEDAR 1. Indian clubs (a pair of) bottle-shaped clubs swung to exercise the arms in gymnastics. Indian corn: see CORN noun1 3b. Indian cress the nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus, formerly used as a salad plant. Indian cup the pitcher-plant, Sarracenia purpurea. Indian currant = coral-berry s.v. CORAL noun. Indian defence Chess any of various defences in which Black opens by moving the king's knight, usu. following with a fianchetto. Indian devil: see DEVIL noun 5. Indian ELEPHANT. Indian English: spoken by an inhabitant of the Indian subcontinent whose native language is not English. Indian fig = prickly pear s.v. PRICKLY adjective. Indian fig tree = banyan tree s.v. BANYAN 4. Indian file (in) single file, the order usu. adopted by N. American Indians in moving through woods. Indian giver N. Amer. a person who asks back a present he or she has given or expects an exact equivalent in return. Indian grass N. Amer. a tall perennial prairie grass, Sorghastrum nutans, often grown as fodder. Indian hemp (a) a tropical race of hemp, Cannabis sativa subsp. indica, the source of marijuana; (b) a N. American plant, Apocynum cannabinum (family Apocynaceae), the bark of which yields a fibre formerly used to make ropes etc. Indian ink (a) a black pigment made orig. in China and Japan; (b) a dark ink made from this, used esp. in drawing and technical graphics. Indian lake a crimson pigment made from stick-lac treated with alum and alkali. Indian liquorice (the root of) the jequirity, Abrus precatorius. Indian madder: see MADDER noun 1. Indian mallow a yellow-flowered mallow, Abutilon theophrasti, of warmer parts of Eurasia, which yields a fibre like jute and is widely naturalized; also called American jute, Chinese jute, velvet-leaf. Indian meal: ground from maize. Indian millet (a) = BULRUSH millet; (b) = DURRA. Indian Mutiny: see MUTINY noun 2. Indian Ocean the ocean south of India, extending from the east coast of Africa to Malaya. Indian paint a N. American boraginaceous plant, Lithospermum canescens, whose root yields a red dye. Indian paintbrush: see paintbrush (b) s.v. PAINT noun. Indian path N. Amer. a narrow path through the woods, such as is made by Indians moving in single file. Indian PEAFOWL. Indian pear = Juneberry s.v. JUNE. Indian physic any of several N. American plants with medicinal properties, esp. Gillenia trifoliata, of the rose family. Indian pink = CAROLINA pink. Indian pipe a N. American saprophytic plant, Monotropa uniflora (family Pyrolaceae), with a solitary drooping flower. Indian plantain any of several N. American plants of the genus Arnoglossum, of the composite family. Indian poke: see POKE noun2 2b. Indian potato any of several plants with tubers eaten by American Indians, esp. the potato-bean, Apios americana. Indian problem Chess: based on the theme of combining two pieces to allow an opponent to escape from stalemate, while using them to prepare a trap in the form of discovered checkmate. Indian pudding a New England dish made of maize, molasses, and suet. Indian red orig., a yellow-red earth containing ferric oxide; now chiefly, (the colour of) any of various red pigments prepared by oxidation of ferrous salts. Indian restaurant: operated by people from the Indian subcontinent, serving Indian food. Indian rhinoceros: see RHINOCEROS 1. Indian rice: see RICE noun2 2. Indian rope-trick the supposed feat, by natives of the Indian subcontinent, of climbing an upright unsupported length of rope. Indian ROSEWOOD. Indian rubber = INDIARUBBER. Indian runner: see RUNNER 5d. Indian saffron: see SAFFRON noun. Indian SARSAPARILLA. Indian shot the plant Canna indica, from its round hard black seeds. Indian sign N. Amer. (a) a track revealing the presence of Indians; (b) colloq. a magic spell; a curse, a jinx. Indian silk-cotton tree: see SILK noun & adjective. Indian summer a period of calm dry warm weather in late autumn in the northern US or elsewhere; fig. a tranquil late period of life etc. Indian tea (a) tea grown in India or Sri Lanka, considered stronger than China tea; (b) any of several N. American plants whose leaves are used to make an infusion. Indian teak: see TEAK noun 1. Indian tobacco a N. American medicinal plant, Lobelia inflata (family Lobeliaceae), which tastes like tobacco when chewed. Indian TRAGACANTH. Indian turnip (the edible corm of) a N. American aroid plant, Arisaema triphyllum. Indian weed arch. (US) tobacco. Indian yellow an orange-yellow pigment orig. obtained from the urine of cows fed on mango-leaves.
? See also EAST INDIAN, WEST INDIAN.