Indianadj.n.
/ˈɪndɪən/, U.S. /ˈɪndiən/ A. adj.
1.
a. Of, from, or belonging to India, British India (now historical), or (formerly) the East Indies. Also: of or characteristic of the inhabitants of these regions.†Formerly also: Asian (obsolete).Still occasionally used with reference to people and things from the subcontinent comprising Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, a usage now frequently objected to by people in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > East Indies > [adjective] > India
Indiana1393
Indish1548
Indiary1646
Hindustan1655
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of India > [adjective]
Indian?1566
Indic1635
Hindustan1655
subcontinental1973
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 4732 (MED) If the tresor of Cresus And al the gold Octovien, Forth with the richesse Yndien Of Perles and of riche stones, Were al togedre myn at ones, I sette it at nomore acompte, [etc.].
1537 tr. Original & Sprynge All Sectes Contents sig. ✠iii v Indian fayth vttred by Mathew.
?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. D ij An Indian Philosopher named Diphileus.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 99 The beautious scarfe vailing an Indian beauty. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 436 Toward the Springs Of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams. View more context for this quotation
1734 G. Sale Preliminary Disc. i. 2 in tr. Koran Alexander the Great, after his return from his Indian expedition.
1793 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 54. 432 Of China..the Emperor and other Indian monarchs.
1839 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 283 That is the grand Indian sorrow—the necessity of parting with one's children.
1882 Garden 11 Mar. 171/1 The unrivalled collection of Indian Rhododendrons in the temperate house at Kew.
1893 A. Buckland Our Nat. Inst. 109 The Indian Budget is brought into the English House of Commons every year and submitted to its approval.
1940 Mind 49 130 The condition of ‘super-consciousness’ which most Indian philosophers and mystics agree to be attainable in this life.
1942 ‘G. Orwell’ Diary 18 Apr. in Coll. Ess. (1968) II. 419 The tactless utterances of Americans who for years have been blahing about ‘Indian freedom’ and British imperialism.
1992 R. E. Ward India's Pro-Arab Policy i. 14 The Indian representative to the League was nominated by the British government, or by the British Viceroy in India with the approval of the government.
2005 Hindu (Nexis) 5 Sept. Punnai..was a species from Madagascar and which reached the Indian subcontinent very likely before the Gondwana split.
b. Manufactured in India; of Indian material, pattern, or design.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > East Indies > [adjective] > India > of Indian origin
Indian1558
countrymade1788
1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli Secretes Alexis of Piemount v. f. 89 Whan you haue washed and wyped hym [sc. the skin] againe, geue him one wype ouer with and [sic] Indian coloure sodden in Roche Alome.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 38 Be your wordes made (good sir) of Indian ware, That you allowe them mee by so small rate.
1633 G. Wither Ivvenilia 149 Our home-made cloth, is now too course a ware, For Chyna and for Indian stuffs we are.
1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode iii. i. 37 That word shall be mine too, and my last Indian-Gown thine for 't.
c1702 C. Fiennes Journeys (1947) 346 A pladd bed lined with Indian callicoe and an India carpet on the bed.
c1793 J. Austen Volume First (1933) 9 Your sentiments so nobly expressed on the different excellencies of Indian & English Muslins.
1794 A. Young Trav. France (ed. 2) I. xix. 548 They print a great quantity of Indian callicoes.
1825 in W. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) I. 967 Flowered Indian gowns, formerly in use with schoolmasters.
1851 J. F. Royle On Culture & Commerce of Cotton in India i. 22 Indian cotton is well known to have certain good qualities of its own.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iii. xxi. 47 An Indian shawl over her arm.
1937 J. Laver Taste & Fashion xii. 178 A combination chemise and knickers of Indian gauze.
1971 Habitat Catal. 76/2 Indian cotton durries..simple tough cotton rugs.
2005 New Internationalist July 17/1 KRN replied that he ‘never owned a silk jibba. I wear only khadi (Indian homespun cotton).’
c. Designating a British person living, or returned from living, in India under British rule. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of India > [adjective] > European
Japhetic1710
Indian1793
Japhetian1803
Anglo-Indian1805
Indo-British1954
1793 J. Bruce Hist. View Plans, for Govt. Brit. India ii. i. 518 When an Indian officer had acquired a fortune, he would be disposed to return to Europe and to exchange with a British officer.
1799 C. Reeve Destination III. 211 Young Isaac Stanmore is married to the daughter of an Indian nabob (as the country people call him).
1829 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 25 364 Civilians and Indian officers returning from sick furlough.
1865 Fortn. Rev. 2 31 There arose what were known in England as Indian families. These it is true were ridiculed as upstart, nabobish, and so forth.
1897 G. Douglas Blackwood Group 126 Old Adam Ramsay, the cross-grained, misanthropic, Indian uncle.
1903 A. C. Plowden Grain or Chaff? ii. 19 I was consigned to the care of a clergyman in Yorkshire, who had a small school and received a certain number of Indian children as boarders.
1998 E. Boehmer Empire Writing 438 Trevelyan's liberal view of the situation earned him the opprobrium of the Indian planter class.
2. Of, belonging to, or characteristic of the indigenous peoples of (any part of) the Americas. Cf. American Indian adj.For a discussion of the current usage of this term in relation to Native American see note at American Indian n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > Amerindian > [adjective]
Indian1590
American1611
red1725
American Indian1771
North American Indian1845
red-skinned1869
Amerind1899
Amerindian1899
pan-Indian1921
the mind > emotion > calmness > patience > [adjective] > long-suffering
longmoodeOE
sufferable1303
sufferantc1330
sufferinga1340
long1483
long-willeda1500
long-enduring1527
long-suffering1535
long-minded1618
longanimous1620
Indian1737
enduring1816–7
endurant1866
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. iii. sig. M6v Though beyond the Africk Ismael, Or th' Indian Peru he were, she thought Him forth through infinite endeuour to haue sought.
1596 W. Raleigh Discoverie Guiana (new ed.) 49 I saw an Indian basket hidden, which was the refiners basket.
1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan ii. iv. 73 A small sized Choffe that eateth the Indian maisze.
1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 55 This Indian Maid..fell in love with him, and hid him close from her Countrymen.
1737 J. Wesley Let. 22 July (1931) I. 225 When..He shall have chosen one or more to magnify Him,..not with a stoical or Indian indifference, but blessing and praying for their murderers.
1748 H. Ellis Voy. Hudson's-Bay (1749) ii. 74 A Pair of Indian stockings,..made of Broad Cloth or Leather, which reached up to the mid Thigh.
1793 B. Edwards Hist. Brit. Colonies W. Indies I. iv. 89 From the variety of Indian languages..which anciently prevailed in the Islands and on the neighbouring Continent, some of these animals have..many different names.
1798 I. Allen Nat. & Polit. Hist. Vermont 34 To give an Indian whoop and raise their ambuscade.
1822 W. Wordsworth Eccl. Sketches ii. xxv. 67 The shrouded Body, to the Soul's command, Answering with more than Indian fortitude.
1832 J. Bell Syst. Geogr. (new ed.) VI. 142 The Indian tribes of Bolivia are generally of errant and warlike dispositions, particularly the Chiquitos.
1855 H. W. Longfellow Hiawatha Introd. 7 Listen to this Indian Legend, To this Song of Hiawatha!
1890 Catholic World June 346 He came back to be killed by an Indian hatchet in these wildernesses.
1916 C. A. Eastman From Deep Woods to Civilization iii. 32 He took out his Bible and hymn-book printed in the Indian tongue.
1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet ii. 98 A man who was not thin so much as actually gaunt, with straight black hair..and high Indian cheekbones.
1970 D. Brown Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee ii. 15 Many of the Mexicans had Indian blood.
2007 Church Times 5 Apr. 8/1 He refused to apologise to the aboriginal people of Canada who were former residents of the Indian residential schools.
3. North American. Made of maize or Indian corn. See also Indian bread n. 2, Indian pudding n. at Compounds 1b(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [adjective] > maize
Indian1608
mealies1855
1608 E. M. Wingfield Disc. Virginia in Trans. & Coll. Amer. Antiquarian Soc. (1860) 4 87 And hee..had bought some witnesses' handes against me to diuers artycles, wth Indian cakes.
1672 Sir W. Talbot in F. L. Hawks Hist. N. Carolina (1858) II. 45 Who, at our setting out, laughed at my provision of Indian-meal.
1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 27 Their Arithmetick (in gaming) was kept with a Heap of Indian Grain.
1751 J. Bartram Observ. Trav. from Pensilvania 60 Last of all was served a great bowl, full of Indian dumplings, of new soft corn, cut or scraped off the ear.
1797 Laws State Delaware II. lxi. 705 To procure four hundred hundred weight of Indian-flour instead of two hundred barrels of wheat-flour.
1828 E. Leslie Seventy-five Receipts 61 Indian Pound Cake.
1838 A. Jameson Winter Stud. & Summer Rambles Canada III. 247 They had a fixed daily allowance of fat pork, Indian meal, and tobacco.
1860 B. J. Lossing Recoll. & Private Mem. Washington xxii. 435 The president ate Indian cakes for breakfast..although buckwheat cakes were generally on the table.
1989 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 1 Jan. 6/1 Collard greens are another side dish, with Indian dumplings.
2002 J. L. Silver-Isenstadt Shameless ii. 78 She and Elma survived on inexpensive Indian mush and molasses.
4. Chess. Designating any of various chess openings, now esp. ones in which black seeks to control the centre of the board with knights or fianchettoed bishops, rather than by advancing the centre pawns.Frequently in the names of openings, often denoting that the king's (or queen's) bishop is fianchettoed, as King's (or Queen's) Indian defence. See also Nimzo-Indian adj. [The reference to Mr. Green (in quot. 1864) relates to Valentine Green (1831–77), English amateur chess-player, who, having recently returned from India, played this move in the London tournament of 1862.]
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [adjective] > named openings
Indian1864
Nimzowitsch1925
Nimzo-Indian1935
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > named openings or continuations
gambit1735
game1735
Giuoco Piano1813
Sicilian game1847
Sicilian opening1852
Ruy Lopez1859
French defence1868
Sicilian defence1875
Siesta gambit1935
King's (or Queen's) Indian defence1942
Nimzo-Indian1954
1864 J. Löwenthal Chess Congr. 1862 113 Mr. Green..informs us that this opening is common among the native players in Hindostan. We propose, therefore, to name it ‘the Indian Opening’.
1884 Chess Player's Chron. 22 Oct. 172/2 An example of the rare Indian Defence, so called on account of its introduction by the celebrated Indian Chess Player, the Brahmin Moheschunder Bonnerjee, in his games against Cochrane.
1896 H. F. Cheshire Hastings Chess Tourn. 1895 369 Openings,..Hungarian,..Indian,..King's Gambits.
1899 E. E. Cunnington Mod. Chess Primer ix. 181 Or Black may play the ‘Indian Defence’.
1942 H. Golombek 50 Great Games Mod. Chess 67/1 (heading) Queen's Pawn, Queen's Indian Defence.
1958 Listener 13 Nov. 803/3 If you favour complications, you are most likely to be suited by the queen's pawn opening and by the Sicilian and King's Indian Defences.
1974 Argus (Fremont, Calif.) 21 July 15/1 King's Indian Attack... Purposely choosing a close opening system..in order to give full rein to her superior positional judgment.
1984 Oxf. Compan. Chess 150/2 Nf6 can lead to many openings that are in no sense ‘Indian’.
2000 E. Gufeld Art of King's Indian Pref. 5/1 The main idea of the King's Indian Defence..was expressed in an aphoristic way by..Savielly Tartakower: ‘Not death in the centre, but death to the centre’.
B. n.
I. Senses relating to people.
1.
a. A native or citizen of India or (formerly) the East Indies; a person of Indian descent.In early use sometimes: †an elephant-driver, a mahout; cf. quot. 1611 and perhaps 1495, 1663 (obsolete) [after corresponding use of classical Latin Indus, ancient Greek Ἰνδός (in Hellenistic Greek)] .
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > Indian > [noun]
Indianc1400
East Indian1555
Asian Indian1904
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of India > [noun] > native or inhabitant of India
Indianc1400
Hindustan1662
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance by carrying > [noun] > conveyance by pack-animals > one who > elephant-driver
Indianc1400
mahout1662
carnac1704
oozie1901
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 7416 (MED) Yndyens [a1425 Linc. Inn Jndiens] comen wiþ drawen swerd.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xviii. xlii. sig. ccviiv/1 [Elephants] ben full peryllous in time of generacoun, and namely the wylde eliphauntes..& therfore the Yndeens [a1398 BL Add. Yndes] hyde theyr tame female eliphauntys.
1533 J. More tr. D. de Góis Legacye Prester Iohn (title page) Of the fayth of the Indyans, ceremonyes, relygyons &c.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxxv You Portyngales..to the Indyans you cary nothyng but coyne, whiche is hurt to all countreys.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Macc. vi. 37 There were also vpon euery one [sc. elephant] two and thirtie strong men that fought vpon them, besides the Indian that ruled him.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 117 As Indians with a female Tame Elephant enveigle the male.
1739 tr. A. Banier Mythol. & Fables Ancients I. ii. viii. 138 This Brahma..composed and left to the Indians the four Books, which they call Beth, or Bed.
1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 385 A copper colour denotes the complexion of the Indians of Asia.
1802 Bartolomeo Voy. E. Indies i. vii The Indians consider it indecent.
1885 H. J. S. Cotton New India ii. 11 The attitude of Englishmen to Indians is not of a character to inspire confidence.
1923 Glasgow Herald 20 Feb. 6 The possible future absorption by Indians of the bulk of Indian Army commissions and military appointments.
1954 Chambers's Encycl. World Survey 210/1 Indians have long shown a genuine flair for the parliamentary system of government.
1971 M. Edwardes Nehru xx. 328 The machinery that was to move Lal Bahadur Shastri, a very different sort of Indian, into the office of Prime Minister had already been put in gear.
2007 Wisden Cricketer July 39 Late cancellations from Indians intending to travel for the Super Eights, seems to have led to streets and shops quieter than expected.
b. A European, esp. a British person, who resides or has resided in British India. Chiefly in old Indian, returned Indian, etc. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of India > [noun] > native or inhabitant of India > European
Indian1751
Anglo-Indian1805
Indo-European1825
Hindu1830
Indo-Briton1831
sahib-log1848
1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless III. xx. 255 This young Indian had a great deal of..honest simplicity.
1814 C. Buchanan Christian Res. in Asia (ed. 10) 37 Old Indians in England will sometimes observe, that though they lived many years in the East, they never saw such things.
1816 M. Elphinstone in T. E. Colebrooke Life M. Elphinstone (1884) I. 367 Our best Indians. In the idleness and obscurity of home they look back with fondness to the country where they have been useful and distinguished.
1829 H. B. Henderson Bengalee 450 Bath, and Cheltenham... At the latter two, so many returned Indians are in the habit of congregating.
a1901 R. W. Buchanan Sweet Nancy (1914) i. 17 Sir Roger's an old Indian, and used to begums.
1966 Eng. Hist. Rev. 81 65 The Political Committee consisted of a formidable array of old Indians, many of whom were jealous of tinkering with what had been Company policy.
1996 C. M. Wilbur China in my Life xiv. 158 What they told me sounded much like the reports I heard from returned Indians or Burmese.
2.
a. A member of the indigenous peoples of (any part of) the Americas; an American Indian. Cf. Amerind n., Amerindian n., American Indian n.The Inuit of northern Canada and Alaska are often excluded from this term.For a discussion of the current usage of this term in relation to Native American see note at American Indian n.Amazonian, Chickasaw, North American, Pampas, Pueblo, Red, West, Zuñi Indian, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > Amerindian > [noun]
Indian1553
American1568
Native Americana1628
native1636
American Native1648
American Indian1650
Injun1666
Canada Indian1688
red man1740
North American Indian1748
redskinc1769
buckskin1783
Red Indian1788
red1795
North American1825
copperhead1838
neechee1850
Lo1871
Amerind1899
Amerindian1899
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Jjv They saw certayn Indians gatheringe shel fyshes by the sea bankes.
1576 H. Gilbert Disc. Discov. New Passage Cataia sig. f.iiv Those Indians..came onely through our Northwest passage.
1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 88 The Indians of the West have names for their particuler gods, thoughe they have no name for God.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. iv. §8 The tradition of the Flood is among the Indians, both in New France, Peru, and other parts.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iv. ii. 18 I..took out some Toys, which Travellers usually carry for Presents to the Savage Indians of America.
1795 W. Winterbotham Hist. View Amer. U.S. IV. 172 In Peru several districts, particularly in the kingdom of Quito, are occupied almost entirely by Indians.
1824 W. Bullock Six Months' Residence Mexico 78 As we approached Puebla, we met several groups of Indians.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish i. 50 Now we are ready, I think, for any assault of the Indians.
1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight vi. 78 No one ever heard of a short-sighted Indian.
1926 S. G. Inman Probl. in Pan Americanism ii. 68 The visitor to South America will see nothing more pitiful than the Indians of Peru and Bolivia, descendents of great civilizations now forgotten.
1971 D. Heffron Nice Fire & Some Moonpennies i. 10 Hey ya know, you look like a real Indian with that head-band, you know that?
1987 D. Hall Seasons at Eagle Pond ii. 28 As Parkman describes it, in the seventeenth century..Indians lived in teepees dense with smoke to discourage blackflies and mosquitoes.
2007 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 15 Feb. 35/3 Tudge writes of Brazilian Indians known as mateiros whose expert knowledge of tree species and their uses outstrips that of the wisest professor.
b. Originally: (in plural) the game of Cowboys and Indians (Cowboys and Indians at cowboy n. Phrases). Later also: an ‘Indian’ in such a game.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > game of make-believe > specific
Indian1834
mothers and fathers1903
Cowboys and Indians1916
cops and robbers1938
1834 New Monthly Mag. Nov. 281 We built wigwams together in the woods, had our tomahawks made of the same fashion, united our property in fox-traps, and played Indians with perfect contentment in each other's approbation.
1870 Dubuque (Iowa) Daily Herald 25 June The children of a Maine farmer, while playing Indians in the pasture the other day, drove the cows over a precipice, killing and maiming the whole herd.
1883 W. W. Newell Games & Songs Amer. Children i. 26 The players were divided into Indians and hunters, the former uttering their war-cry... The game ended with the extermination of one party or the other.
1969 I. Opie & P. Opie Children's Games v. 181 The attraction of ‘Stalking’ (‘Gang Stalking’, ‘Shadowing’, ‘Indians’) is that the hunters can become the hunted.
1994 J. Barth Once upon Time 41 We played..at games and amusements innumerable, most innocent, some not: Indians and war, tag and Tarzan, desert isle and fright-fraught jungle.
3. An indigenous inhabitant of the Philippines; (in early use) esp. one who has converted to Christianity. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of Philippines > [noun] > indigenous
Indian1697
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xi. 307 He fell in with these Philippine Islands, and anchored at Luconia; where he warr'd with the native Indians, to bring them in obedience to his master the King of Spain.
1776 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies II. i. 40 This tyranny has determined vast numbers of Indians to forsake the Philippines, or to take refuge in the inaccessible parts of those islands.
1817 J. McLeod Narr. Voy. Alceste 171 The religion of the Indians under the immediate control of the Spaniards is Christianity; but at Mindanao and the other islands..it is said to be a mixture of Mahomedanism with..Pagan rites.
1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 752/1 Cigars they [sc. the Negritos of the Philippines] often smoke with the burning end between the teeth—a practice occasionally observed among the civilized Indians.
1905 F. W. Atkinson Philippine Islands x. 264 The Spaniards used the term Indian in speaking collectively of these seven Christian tribes and the word Filipino in speaking of any one born in the Islands without distinction as to religious belief.
1968 R. Nelson Philippines ii. 31 The majority of the people, called Indians by the Spanish, had an olive complexion.
4. An indigenous inhabitant of Australia, New Zealand, or the Pacific Islands. Now historical and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > New Zealand and Australian indigenous peoples > [noun]
Indian1769
Cook Islander1888
1769 J. Cook Diary 9 Oct. (1955) I. 168 Seeing some of the natives on the other side of the river..I order'd the yaul in... In the mean time the Indians [sc. Maoris] made off.
1770 J. Banks Jrnl. 28 Apr. (1962) II. 53 During this time a few of the Indians [sc. Australian Aboriginals]..remaind on the rocks opposite the ship, threatning and menacing with their pikes and swords.
1790 W. Bligh Narr. Mutiny on Bounty 21 I once before sustained an attack..against a multitude of Indians.
1813 S. Reynolds Diary 26 Aug. (1970) 152 The crew..got the person who told us about Captain Walker's setting the Indians to take us.
1830 A. F. Gardiner Friend of Austral. xiii. 244 It is the observation of some writers, that the system pursued in Australia for educating the children of the Indians, is not attended with success.
1872 E. Millett Austral. Parsonage 127 The ‘aborigines’, as they are now styled... Captain Cook would in his older time have called ‘Indians’.
1998 Current Anthropol. 39 521/1 Captain James Cook..was struck by the similarity in language and physical appearance of the ‘Indians’ inhabiting the widely spaced archipelagoes of Polynesia.
II. Other uses.
5.
a. Any of the indigenous languages spoken by American Indians.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Amerindian > [noun] > northern Amerindian
Indian1637
Mutsun1857
1637 R. Williams Let. in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1863) 4th Ser. VI. 215 He came from a trading howse..& can speake much Indian.
1643 R. Williams Key into Lang. Amer. i. 8 Eenàntowash, Speake Indian.
1714 S. Sewall Diary 6 Apr. (1973) II. 750 Mr. Mayhew writes a Letter in Indian to Saul.
1830 Trans. Amer. Philos. Assoc. 3 97 Whoever will speak Indian must learn to think in Indian.
1894 M. Eells Father Eells 91 A school was also kept in Indian, the lessons being prepared on paper, hung up on the side of the house and read and recited.
1946 T. M. Stanwell-Fletcher Driftwood Valley 114 I have pronounced and spelled it..as it sounds to us in Indian.
1958 Camsell Arrow (Edmonton, Alberta) Jan.–Feb. 1 Although [the sisters] are French and the children speak Indian, English is the language of the school.
1999 A. Boye Holding Stone Hands (2001) xvi. 153 Wasn't it cool when he spoke in Indian for us?
b. Any of the indigenous languages used in India or (formerly) the East Indies.
ΚΠ
1684 tr. J. B. Tavernier Trav. I. v. 76 While we were eating, I counted thirteen Languages spoken at the Table; Latin, French, High-Dutch, English, Low-Dutch, Italian, Portuguez, Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Indian, Syriac, and Malaye.
a1813 A. Murray Hist. European Lang. (1823) II. ii. iii. 254 The Sanscrit principles are very numerous... The Greek os, and Gothic s, is written in Indian h.
1886 P. Gardner Coins Greek & Scythic Kings of Bactria & India p. xlii These reverse titles are really written in Indian. I give, for convenience, the Greek equivalents.
1921 E.S. Brooks tr. R. Chauvelot Mysterious India v. 49 ‘Who would like to talk Indian with the fire-eater?’.. ‘I’, answered the Maharajah.
2002 K. D. Hall Lives in Transl. iii. 82 Most of my relatives that are Sikh are in England, and I speak Indian with the parents, but English with the kids.
6. North American. = Indian corn n. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > maize
maizea1544
Turkey corn1597
turkey wheat1598
Indian corn1604
Indian1641
Turkish wheat1670
mealies1801
kanga1843
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > maize
Turkey corn1597
turkey wheat1598
Indian corn1604
Indian1641
Turkish wheat1670
mealies1801
kanga1843
1641 Dorchester Town Rec. (1883) 286 Red in wheate and Indein 31l 8s.
1664 Plymouth Col. Rec. (1855) IV. 72 The barly att four shillings..and the Indian att three shillings the bushell.
1780 E. Parkman Diary 200 Elias went in today with a Bushel of Indian.
1862 M. H. Cornelius Young Housekeeper's Friend (rev. ed.) 84 Baked Indian. Boil a pint of milk... Stir in a large teacup of Indian meal, [etc.].
1894 Cent. Mag. Apr. 849/1 The newcomer from another part of the country, when first he crosses the Connecticut River, is startled at being asked..if he will have some ‘fried Indian’.
1942 L. Cannon Look to Mountain 63 You need a few quarts of Indian to plant when you've girdled.
7. Astronomy. (The English name of) the constellation Indus. Now chiefly as a conscious translation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > constellation > Southern constellations > [noun] > Indus
Indian1659
Indus1675
1659 J. Moxon Tutor to Astron. & Geogr. i. iii. §10 19 Twelve Constellations..,posited about the South Pole,..2 The Phenix, 3 The Indian, 4 The Peacock, [etc.].
1721 J. Keill Introd. True Astron. vi. 50 Upon the South side of the Zodiack..are lately added xii more Constellations. Which are not to be seen by us who Inhabit the Northern Regions... These are the Crane, the Peacock, the Indian, [etc.].
1813 ‘E. R.’ Geogr. & Hist. cvii. 278 The regions south of the Zodiac, contain, Cetus, the Whale..; Phœnix; Indus, the Indian; Pavo, the Peacock; [etc.]
1866 W. Lockyer & J. N. Lockyer tr. A. Guillemin Heavens ii. i. vi. 344 The constellation of the Indian.
1910 Encycl. Brit. VII. 13/1 Johann Bayer..published a Uranometria in 1603, in which twelve constellations, all in the southern hemisphere, were added to Ptolemy's forty-eight, viz. Apis (or Musca) (Bee),..Indus (Indian), [etc.].
1970 I. Pearson Myst. of Word 80 By the key of the Purana, in the Cachalot or whale, the constellation of Indus (The Indian) is linked with Cetus.
2001 Illustr. Encycl. Universe 202/1 Among the constellations that would have been unknown to the Greeks are..Indus (the Indian).
8. = Indian tea n. 2.
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the world > food and drink > drink > tea manufacture > [noun] > types of dry tea > Indian tea
Indian tea1710
Indian1748
Assam tea1834
Assam1874
Darjeeling1882
1748 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 17 July (1966) II. 407 I have planted a great deal [of tea] in my Garden, which..has succeeded very well. I cannot say it is as strong as the Indian, but has the advantage of being Fresher and at least unmix'd.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 1 Tea..[Blend] Congou and Indian.
1938 S. Beckett Murphy v. 83 I ask for China and you give me Indian.
1958 J. Cannan And be Villain i. 39 ‘Couldn't you find the Earl Grey?’.. Primrose said, ‘Indian's better for pulling you together.’
2004 L. Morris Red & Lowering Sky iv. 54 She stood up, critically looking over the tray. ‘Will you have China or Indian?’ she asked politely.
9. Chess.
a. A strategy using the themes of an Indian problem; (also) an Indian problem.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > problems
jeopardyc1369
problem1817
Indian problem1846
mover1868
Indian1878
retractive problem1890
waiting problem1891
retractor1893
help-mate1897
sui1897
miniature1903
waiter1906
grab theme1909
fairy chess1914
King's (or Queen's) Indian1931
1878 S. Loyd Chess Strategy 96 Its entire difficulty consists in the skill with which the fact of its being an Indian is concealed.
1913 A. C. White Sam Loyd 287 Two of Loyd's best Indians are shown in Nos. 402 and 403.
2001 Chess problem expert needed in rec.games.chess.misc (Usenet newsgroup) 30 Apr. Does anyone know of a 7-piece #3 showing the Indian theme? I know of a 5 piece Indian.
b. More fully King's (or Queen's) Indian: an Indian defence or (occasionally) attack.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > problems
jeopardyc1369
problem1817
Indian problem1846
mover1868
Indian1878
retractive problem1890
waiting problem1891
retractor1893
help-mate1897
sui1897
miniature1903
waiter1906
grab theme1909
fairy chess1914
King's (or Queen's) Indian1931
1931 Times 17 Aug. 8/3 (table) King's Indian.
1950 Hoyle's Games Modernized (ed. 20) iv. 411 The Catalan system—a modern combination of the King's Indian and Queen's gambit.
1961 G. Abrahams Technique in Chess (1973) vii. 188 Many strategians have adopted systems like the King's Indian, and the Nimzovitch and the Queen's Indian.
2006 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Aug. 29 The King's Indian—a favourite of both Fischer and Kasparov—is not that popular these days.
10. British colloquial. (a) A meal served at an Indian restaurant; (also) a takeaway Indian meal; (b) a restaurant serving Indian food.
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the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating place > [noun] > eating-house or restaurant > other eating-houses
ordinary1590
chop-house1699
porterhouse?1730
steak house1762
beef-house1807
rotisserie1825
fish-shop1826
supper tavern1841
supper house1855
supper room1858
grill-room1883
teetotum1891
grill1896
bar and grill1903
corner-house1912
bistro1922
roadhouse1922
hot doggery1923
rosticceria1930
dinette1940
British Restaurant1941
drive-through1949
drive-up1956
sobaya1958
carvery1962
ouzeri1964
crêperie1967
steak restaurant1970
sushiya1970
steak bar1971
buka1972
kopitiam1979
bukateria1980
churrascaria1981
parrilla1981
Indian1982
theme pub1983
parrillada1984
restobar1992
1982 P. Redmond Brookside (Mersey TV shooting script) (O.E.D. Archive) Episode 4. 60 C'mon, we're going out for an Indian.
1988 C. Keatley My Mother said I never Should ii. 25/2 We could get a take-out Indian.
1995 D. McLean Bunker Man 183 At Grant's party, at the Indian, the way you just walked out!
1998 A. Warner Sopranos 164 We've got Light of India and yon Bamboo place..but when ya grow up in the villages, well when are you goan have an Indian?
2002 Time Out 2 Jan. 47/2 The basement dining room aims to rival London's finest Indians with a set dinner menu costing £39 per head.
Compounds
C1. Compounds of the adjective.
a. Of, relating to, or characteristic of India or the East Indies (see sense A. 1).
(a) † Indian light n. Obsolete = Bengal light n. at Bengal n. Compounds.† Indian oil n. Obsolete rare money, gold; only in to anoint with Indian oil: to tip with gold.
Indian blue n. [compare classical Latin Indicus color indigo] (the deep violet-blue colour of) the dye indigo; = indy blue n. at Indy n.1 b.
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1664 S. Pepys Diary 8 Jan. (1971) V. 8 They came to cards with my wife (who this day put on her Indian blue gown, which is very pretty).
1734 Builder's Dict. II. at Washing They wash with a pale Red to imitate Brick and Tile; with a pale Indian Blue, to imitate Water and Slate.
1797 tr. Constant de Massoul Treat. Art of Painting 183 Indian blue is made from the leaves of the Anil or Indigo, a plant which grows in the East and West Indies.
1815 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 105 107 Both Pliny and Vitruvius speak of the Indian blue, which the first author states to be combustible, and which was evidently a species of indigo.
1908 Amer. Jrnl. Semitic Lang. & Lit. 18 230 Cinnabar is often used for tattooing; also henna..and indigo (or Indian blue).
2007 M2 PressWIRE (Nexis) 16 Jan. The Buzz is available in black and will be offered later this year in Indian blue/sterling silver.
Indian cabinet n. now chiefly historical a cabinet incorporating designs characteristic of China (or elsewhere in East Asia), of a type originally imported by the East India Company; cf. India cabinet n. at India n. 3d.
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1638 Inventory Viscountess Dorchester in Notes & Queries (1953) 416 Indian cabinett.
1758 A. Walker Compl. Syst. Family Bk.-keeping 11 A Desk and Book-case... An Indian Cabinet... A rich Crimson Damask Bed.
1813 J. Hodgson & F. C. Laird Beauties of Eng. & Wales XII. ii. 341 Here is also a high wrought Indian cabinet, ornamented with paintings of Chinese figures.
1868 L. M. Alcott Little Women I. xix. 280 Amy's chief delight was an Indian cabinet, full of queer drawers, little pigeonholes, and secret places.
2005 C. Edwards Turning Houses into Homes iii. 49 Mrs Ann Wraughton (1694)..specialized in the sale of japanned and Indian cabinets.
Indian fire n. now historical a mixture of sulphur, realgar, and nitre, which burns with a brilliant white flame.
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society > communication > indication > signalling > visual signalling > luminous signals > [noun] > pyrotechnic signals
blue light1761
fire shell1765
Indian light1787
Bengal light1791
Indian fire1831
flare-up light1858
flare1883
Very1907
fairy light1916
Aldis lamp1917
Aldis1918
Bengal fire1941
flame float1942
Bengal flash1946
1831 T. Thomson Syst. Chem. (ed. 7) I. i. ii. 312 When 24 parts of nitre, 7 of flowers of sulphur, and 2 of realgar, are triturated together, they form a mixture which burns with an exceedingly white flame and great splendour. It is known by the name of white Indian fire, and is occasionally used in fire-works and in theatres when a very splendid combustion is wanted.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) II. 890 Indian fire..is composed of 7 parts of sulphur, 2 of realgar, and 24 of nitre.
2005 J. Emsley Elem. of Murder v. 113 In Victorian times realgar was used to produce so-called Indian fire which burned with a brilliant white light.
Indian hay n. slang (originally U.S.) marijuana.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding drug or narcotic > [noun] > cannabis or marijuana plant
cannabis1687
Congo tobacco1851
marijuana1874
Indian hay1936
smoking weed1957
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > marijuana or cannabis
bhang1598
hashish1598
cannabis1765
ganja1800
Indian hemp1803
sabzi1804
cannabin1843
deiamba1851
charas1860
liamba1861
hemp1870
cannabis resin1871
marijuana1874
kef1878
locoweed1898
weed1917
Mary Ann1925
mootah1926
muggle1926
Mary Jane1928
Mary Warner1933
Mary and Johnny1935
Indian hay1936
mu1936
mezz1937
moocah1937
grass1938
jive1938
pot1938
mary1940
reefer1944
rope1944
smoke1946
hash1948
pod1952
gear1954
green1957
smoking weed1957
boo1959
Acapulco1965
doobie1967
Mary J1967
cheeba1971
Maui Wowie1971
4201974
Maui1977
pakalolo1977
spliff1977
draw1979
kush1979
resin1980
bud1982
swag1986
puff1989
chronic1992
schwag1993
hydro1995
1936 Health Officer (U.S. Public Health Service) Dec. 300 The marijuana ‘business’ has its own vocabulary. The drug and cigarettes containing it are known as ‘fu’, ‘mezz’, ‘mootah’, ‘mu’, ‘muggles’, ‘reefers’, ‘the weed’, ‘Indian hay’, ‘loco weed’, and ‘Mary Warner’.
1969 Sci. Amer. Dec. 17 In the U.S. it [sc. marijuana] is variously called the weed, stuff, Indian hay,..and other names.
2002 N. Minhas Chapatti or Chips? xii. 146 We've run out of Indian hay. Skunky boy, hunky boy, please. I'm round Kate's, please.
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society > communication > indication > signalling > visual signalling > luminous signals > [noun] > pyrotechnic signals
blue light1761
fire shell1765
Indian light1787
Bengal light1791
Indian fire1831
flare-up light1858
flare1883
Very1907
fairy light1916
Aldis lamp1917
Aldis1918
Bengal fire1941
flame float1942
Bengal flash1946
1787 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 77 214 The Indian lights are alternately exhibited.
Indian Mutiny n. now historical (chiefly with the) a revolt against British rule in India occurring in 1857–8; = Indian Rebellion n., Sepoy Mutiny n. at sepoy n. Compounds 2.Indian Rebellion of 1857 is now frequently the preferred term.
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society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > mutiny > [noun] > specific
Rum Rebellion1841
Indian Mutiny1857
Sepoy Mutiny1857
Indian Rebellion1858
1857 Times 12 Nov. 6/2 It may be said..that the Indian mutiny is at an end.
1891 Daily News 15 July 3/1 Some of the unpensioned survivors of the Crimean and of the Indian Mutiny campaigns.
1938 R. Hayward In Praise of Ulster 235 The Indian Mutiny, South Africa and the Great War brought fresh glories to the valiant ‘Skins’.
2001 Guardian 10 Oct. ii. 9/4 The Deobandi movement to reform and unify Muslims that in part fostered the Indian Mutiny of 1857.
Indian Ocean n. [compare classical Latin mare Indicum, post-classical Latin oceanus Indicus (c700 in a British source)] the ocean lying to the south of India, situated between Africa to the west and the East Indies and Australia to the east.
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the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > specific seas > [noun] > Indian Ocean
Ethiopic Sea (also Ocean)1582
Indian Ocean1582
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xv. clxxvii. f. 250v/2 Taprobana and Zeilan in the Indian Occean.
1698 J. Bilberg tr. Voy. Late King of Sweden vii. 100 At length returning as it were out of the East, by the Indian Ocean, and Atlantick.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Ocean Eastern, or Indian Ocean, has its first Name from its Situation to the East; as its latter from India, the chief Country it washes.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 252 The East Indies include also the islands of the Indian Ocean.
1901 R. Kipling Kim x. 239 Mahbub nearly melted when Kim proposed a sail in a dhow across the Indian Ocean to buy Gulf Arabs.
2007 New Scientist 16 June 10/2 Since 1997, the Indian Ocean Dipole—a cooling of the tropical eastern Indian Ocean, and a warming of the west—has also been more active.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > paying (money) for labour or service > pay (a person) for labour or service [verb (transitive)] > tip
remember1467
testerna1616
to anoint with Indian oil1626
tip1707
touch1752
1626 L. Owen Running Reg. 12 Constrained to anoint Pope Paulus Quintus in the fist with Indian oyle, for his good-will.
Indian problem n. [so called on account of its having been introduced by Henry Augustus Loveday (1816–48), a Chaplain of the Bengal Ecclesiastical Establishment, who sent the problem (under the pseudonym ‘Shagird’) from Delhi to the Chess Player's Chronicle in 1845] Chess a problem in which two pieces are withdrawn to allow an opponent to escape from a stalemate position, while simultaneously being used to prepare a trap in the form of a discovered checkmate.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > problems
jeopardyc1369
problem1817
Indian problem1846
mover1868
Indian1878
retractive problem1890
waiting problem1891
retractor1893
help-mate1897
sui1897
miniature1903
waiter1906
grab theme1909
fairy chess1914
King's (or Queen's) Indian1931
1846 Chess Player's Chron. 6 96 We now publish the names of those amateurs who have sent us the correct solution of our Indian problem.
1878 S. Loyd Chess Strategy 97 The theme of the Indian problem culminates in a stale-mating position, which has been anticipated by preparing an ambush for allowing the defence a move that may expose him to a discovered mate.
1900 Times 10 Jan. 12/1 The original Indian problem [is]..supposed to have been composed in India 50 years ago by a European.
1979 Yale French Stud. 58 109 The Indian problem with which the Indian theme originated appeared anonymously in the Chess Player's Chronicle of February, 1845.
Indian Rebellion n. (more fully Indian Rebellion of 1857) (chiefly with the) = Indian Mutiny n.
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society > authority > lack of subjection > rebelliousness > mutiny > [noun] > specific
Rum Rebellion1841
Indian Mutiny1857
Sepoy Mutiny1857
Indian Rebellion1858
1858 A. Duff (title) The Indian rebellion: its causes and results.
1863 H. L. Hastings Signs of Times (ed. 3) iii. 70 In the midst of the horrors of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
1944 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 233 7/1 A Royal Commission which inquired into the organization of the Army after the Indian rebellion of 1857.
1992 Novel 25 286 (title) Subaltern consciousness and the historiography of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
2005 Church Times 21 Oct. 23/5 The crowded and less successful chapter on the Indian rebellion (which is no longer called a mutiny of 1857).
Indian red n. (the colour of) a deep red pigment originally obtained from earth containing ferric oxide, now chiefly prepared by roasting ferrous salts; cf. red ochre n.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > red colouring matter > [noun] > earths as colouring matter
red stoneeOE
red eartheOE
redding1292
raddlea1350
ruddle1353
rubric?1440
red ochre1481
sinoper1501
red1538
red chalk1538
sinople1548
terra sigillata1563
almagre1598
majolica1598
minium1613
orell1614
reddle1648
India red1668
Indian red1672
riddle1681
smit1728
Persian earth1735
red marl1748
abraum1753
Terra Sienna1760
tivera1825
kokowai1836
sinopia1844
sinopis1857
1672 W. Salmon Polygraphice 178 For a Scarlet. Take Vermilion, and deepen it with Lake or Indian Red.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Red Indian Red, a name used by the colourmen and painters for a kind of purple ochre, brought from the island of Ormus in the Persian gulf.
1828 Times 10 Apr. 4/4 (advt.) The stock consists of various ground and dry colours, white lead, verdigris in pots, chrome yellow, Indian red.
1904 F. S. Mathews Field Bk. Wild Birds & their Music 216 The extreme under parts and under tail-coverts washed with faint Indian red.
1958 M. L. Wolf Dict. Painting 142 The red iron oxides found as natural deposits include Indian red, light red,..and others of lesser importance.
2004 Independent 16 Mar. (Review section) 13/5 Shifting tones of cadmium, alizarin or Indian red create a seductive rectangle of pulsating colour.
Indian rope trick n. (originally) a trick whereby a securely bound performer rapidly unties himself; (subsequently) the feat of climbing an upright unsupported length of rope, supposed to be performed in South Asia.
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1862 Times 3 June 1/6 The new Indian rope feat, by Tolmaque.]
1864 Belfast News-let. 4 Nov. 3/3 Herr Tolemaque, a professed conjurer, who asserts to be ‘the original performer in Europe of the Indian rope trick’, has issued cards for a seance.., when he asserts that he will, ‘unaided by spiritual or corporeal confederates, perform the Davenport manifestations’.
1875 T. Frost Circus Life 170 The ‘rope-trick’, shown first by an expert performer named Redmond at Astley's... Redmond was seen.., securely bound in a chair... In a minute and a half.., he walked out, with a rope in his hands... I have heard it called both the American rope-trick and the Indian rope-trick.
1891 A. Lang in Longman's Mag. June 221 We spoke lately of the Indian Rope Trick... [citing MS notes by Colonel Henry Yule] The rope-trick, by which a man and boy are said to ascend out of sight towards the sky, whence the severed limbs of the boy are afterwards thrown down.
1922 L. H. Branson Indian Conjuring ix. 76 (heading) The Indian rope trick.
1953 L. H. Branson Lifetime of Deception xxxviii. 206 The Indian ‘Jadoo-wallah’ is a much over-rated performer, particularly as the world-famous Indian rope trick has never been performed. This is a statement of fact.
1977 Private Eye 4 Mar. 17/3 For what such massive buying operations did was to ensure that the Slater share price resembled the Indian rope trick, defying gravity.
2002 P. Thomas What works, what Doesn't xi. 171 A crowd believed they were watching the Indian rope trick. Later, still photographs revealed that the rope had fallen and the fakir was just standing there doing nothing.
Indian subcontinent n. the part of Asia south of the Himalayas which forms a peninsula extending into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, now divided between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.Also used with wider application to include Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The term is roughly equivalent to South Asia, esp. in the wider use, although Indian subcontinent is sometimes considered to be more of a geophysical description, and South Asia more geopolitical.
ΚΠ
1905 Times 10 Nov. 5/1 The busy harbour [of Bombay]..has become the chief centre of direct communication between Europe and the Indian sub-continent.
1975 K. Katzner Langs. of World ii. 199 Tamil..is spoken principally in the state of Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras), located on the eastern coast and extending down to the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent.
2003 Piecework Nov. 63/1 Scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, Banjara peoples quilt and embroider ground fabrics of reddish-brown handspun cotton.
Indian work n. traditional Indian handicraft; (in later use) spec. drawn-thread-work on muslin.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > drawn-thread work > specific
Indian work1613
punto tirato1881
1613 G. Chapman Memorable Maske Inns of Court sig. A 2 The ground cloath of siluer, richly embroidered, with golden Sunns, and about euery Sunne, ran a traile of gold, imitating Indian worke.
1758 R. Dossie Handmaid to Arts I. iii. iv. 410 It is practised likewise, in imitation of what is sometimes done in the Indian work, to paint with water colours on grounds of gold.
1862 Times 2 July 11/1 It is finer than Indian work, though not so durable, and whereas this cost but 60l., an Indian shawl to be compared with it would cost 500l.
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 157/2 Fig. 299 is of a later description of Drawn Work, and would be known as Indian Work, as its foundation is muslin.
1900 E. Jackson Hist. Hand-made Lace 150 Drawn-work..was known all over Europe as Hamburg Point, Indian work (when executed in muslin).
1920 A. K. Arthur Embroidery Bk. ix. 90 Some of the elaborately worked pieces of Indian and Persian work, where tinsel braids are freely employed, are things to marvel at.
2007 Internat. Herald Tribune (Nexis) 8 Feb. 10 It is the elegant blend of Indo-Western that attracts customers; the Indian cut with traditional work placed in unusual ways or Western patterns with Indian work.
Indian yellow n. (the colour of) a bright orange-yellow pigment originally apparently obtained from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves, and consisting mainly of magnesium salts of euxanthic acid.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > yellow or yellowness > colouring matter > [noun] > pigments
yelloweOE
motey1353
arsenica1393
orpimentc1395
auripigmenta1398
ochre1440
pink1464
massicot1472
yellow ochre1482
orpine1548
painter's gold1591
spruce1668
giallolino1728
king's yellow1738
Naples yellow1738
stil de grain1769
yellow earth1794
queen's yellow1806
chromate1819
chrome yellow1819
Oxford ochre1827
Indian yellow1831
Italian pink1835
Montpellier yellow1835
Turner1835
quercitron lake1837
jaune brillant1851
zinc chromate1851
zinc sulphide1851
brush-gold1861
zooxanthin1868
Oxford chrome1875
aureolin1879
cadmium yellow1879
Cassel yellow1882
Neapolitan yellow1891
zinc chrome1892
Mars1899
jaune jonquille1910
1831 Times 1 Aug. 8/2 80lbs. patent chrome and Indian yellow.
1866–72 H. Watts Dict. Chem. IV. 751 Purree serves for the preparation of Indian yellow, a fine rich durable yellow colour much used both in oil and water-colour painting, and consisting mainly of euxanthate of magnesium.
1938 Parnassus 10 26 Genuine Indian yellow is no longer available... Formerly cows were fed on mango leaves, which increases the flow of bile. The yellow urine was collected, dried and sold as Puree from which pigment was made.
2005 E. Winters in C. van Eck & E. Winters Dealing with Visual iii. 64 The palette includes yellow ochre and Indian yellow for tinting; English red is used as a neutral.
(b) In the names of plants and animals.† Indian eye n. Obsolete rare a kind of pink, Dianthus plumarius, which has an eye-shaped marking on the corolla.† Indian heart n. Obsolete a heartseed or balloon vine (genus Cardiospermum, family Sapindaceae).† Indian mouse n. [compare post-classical Latin mus Indicus (of uncertain date)] Obsolete a mongoose; esp. the Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon.† Indian raven n. Obsolete (a) (perhaps) the broad-billed roller, Eurystomus glaucurus (rare); (b) either of two hornbills of South Asia: the rhinoceros hornbill, Buceros rhinoceros, and (perhaps) an immature black hornbill, Anthracoceros malayanus.
Indian antelope n. an antelope found in India; spec. the blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > antelope > [noun] > subfamily Antilopinae > genus Antilope (black buck)
antelope1417
Indian antelope1771
blackbuck1834
sasin1834
1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds 26 Antelope... Indian. Le Coudous. De Buffon... A[ntelope] with thick strait horns, marked with two prominent spiral ribs.
1858 A. M. Redfield Zoöl. Sci. 232 The common Indian Antelope, and the Gazelle.., use this organ when any strange substance is brought to their notice.
1927 Classical Philol. 22 176 If the horn was of the hardness of, say, that of the common Indian antelope or ‘black buck’, it presented a very solid front to borers.
1992 Jrnl. Anthropol. Res. 48 235 The subcontinent's then best-known ungulate and sacrificial animal, the Indian antelope (Antilope cervicapra).
Indian ass n. [after classical Latin asinus Indicus (Pliny), ancient Greek Ινδικὸς ὄνος ( Aristotle Historia Animalium 499 b 20)] a mythical animal resembling an antelope, with a single horn and uncloven hooves.
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the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > unicorn
one-hornedlOE
unicorn?c1225
monocerosc1400
Indian ass1594
licorn1842
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises v. x. f. 260 The Unicorne is founde in Æthiopia, like as the Indian Asse is found in India, which hath likewise one only horne in his forehead.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia v. vii. 288 Whether the Rhinoceros be the Unicorn, I suspend my belief..: But what Petrus Angelius relates concerning the Onager, or Indian Ass, can have no congruity with this.
1733 in tr. Anc. Accts. India & China Remarks 62 The Indian Ass of..Pliny.
a1846 J. Bostock in J. Bostock & H. T. Riley tr. Pliny Nat. Hist. (1855) II. viii. xxxii. 281 (note) There are five animals mentioned by the ancients, as having single horns, the Indian ass, the single-horned horse, [etc.].
1907 Folk-lore 18 213 It is commonly asserted that the apparently one-horned aspect of some Antelopes, when seen in side view, probably originated the idea of the existence of animals such as the one-horned Indian Ass and the one-horned ‘Oryx’.
1993 Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 114 538 Aristotle's India is the home of the dart-shooting martichoras..and the single-horned Indian ass.., creatures which belong to the world of fable rather than the real world.
Indian berry n. now rare the fruit of the Asian plant Anamirta cocculus (family Menispermaceae) (cf. cocculus indicus n.); (also) the plant itself.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > plants yielding poison > [noun] > cocculus indicus plant or berries
cocculus indicus1591
fish-climber1704
Indian berry1765
fisher's berry1787
1765 T. H. Croker et al. Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. II Indian Berry, Cocculus Indicus.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Indian Berry, a plant of the genus Menispermum.
1900 H. L. Keeler Our Native Trees 110 They gladly relinquished their Kentucky beverage for the more grateful flavor of the Indian berry.
1930 Bull. Misc. Information (Royal Bot. Gardens, Kew) No. 4. 138 Their use in medicine, under the name of ‘cocculus indicus’ or ‘Indian berries’, chiefly as a stimulant and parasiticide, has long been established.
Indian cane n. [compare classical Latin harundō Indica , Dutch Riet van Indien (1557 in French context in the passage translated in quot. 1578), and Italian canna Indiana (1663 in the passage translated in quot. 1665)] bamboo; a length of this.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > non-British grasses > [noun] > tropical > bamboo and allies
cane1398
Indian cane1578
bamboo1598
mambu1598
cane-brake1770
cane grass1827
switch cane1845
metake1896
bamboo-grass1909
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. liv. 513 The Cane of Inde, or ye Indian Cane is of the kind of Reedes, very high, long, great, and strong.
1665 G. Havers tr. P. della Valle Trav. E. India iii. 90 A net of cords ty'd at the head and feet, and hanging down from a great Indian Cane [It. vna grossa canna Indiana].
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 171 Some wiser rule,..Supple and flexible as Indian cane, To take the bend his appetites ordain.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xiii. 66 The two tall masts buckling like Indian canes in land tornadoes.
1930 Sci. News Let. 18 494/1 Bodies of a moderate density, such as paper, wood, or Indian cane, are best suited for the conveyance of the sound.
2006 Economist (Nexis) 12 Aug. (Books & Art) Hiram Leonard began to popularise hexagonal bamboo rods made from Chinese bamboo, called Tonkin cane, which had a quality that surpassed Indian cane traditionally used by the British.
Indian cobra n. A brownish to black southern Asian cobra, Naja naja (family Elapidae) which typically has a marking on the hood that resembles spectacles; also called spectacled cobra.
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1840 Madras Jrnl. Lit. & Sci. 12 40 Of the Indian cobra, Russell notices eleven varieties, varying only in circumstances of colour and in the presence or absence of the spectacle mark on the neck.
1876 Philos. Trans. 1875 166 380 The region where teeth are being developed in a colubrine venomous snake, the Indian cobra, is strikingly different.
1998 L. Forbes Bombay Ice (1999) 113 This was naja naja—from the Sanskrit naga, you know, meaning snake—true Indian cobra, our man said, very dark colour.
Indian cock n. [apparently associated with India as a result of early confusion regarding the bird's origin (compare turkey n.2); compare post-classical Latin Gallus Indicus (1599 or earlier) and earlier cock of India at cock n.1 and int. Phrases 1c(a)] now rare the turkey.
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the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > [noun] > member of Meleagrididae (turkey)
turkey1555
Indian cock1638
1638 tr. F. Bacon Hist. Life & Death 66 The Indian Cock [L. Gallus Indicus], commonly called the Turkey-Cock.
1754 F. Watson Animal World Display'd iii. 243 After these are to be named the three Kinds of Indian Cock, all distinguished also in an eminent Manner by their Crests of Feathers.
1893 Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Jrnl. 25 Nov. (Part 2) 3/4 The people they called Indians, and the toothsome fowl they called the Indian cock, and so it is still called in France.
2004 Chron. Higher Educ. (Nexis) 26 Nov. 6 ‘In Russian’, says Mr. Liberman, ‘the bird has always been known as the Indian cock, or simply the Indian bird’.
Indian crocus n. any of various dwarf Asian orchids of the genus Pleione, having large brightly-coloured flowers which appear before the leaves (as in the crocus) or after the leaves have fallen, and popular as ornamentals.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > orchids
satyrionOE
bollockwort?a1300
sanicle14..
bollock?a1425
martagon1548
orchis1559
dogstones1562
hare's-ballocks1562
stone1562
bollock grass1578
dog's cods1578
dog's cullions1578
double-leaf1578
fly-orchis1578
goat's cullions1578
goat's orchis1578
priest's pintle1578
twayblade1578
bee-orchis1597
bifoil1597
bird's nest1597
bird's orchis1597
butterfly orchis1597
fenny-stones1597
gelded satyrion1597
gnat satyrion1597
humble-bee orchis1597
lady's slipper1597
sweet ballocks1597
two-blade1605
cullions1611
bee-flower1626
fly-flower1640
man orchis1670
musk orchis1670
moccasin flower1680
gnat-flower1688
faham tea1728
Ophrys1754
green man orchis1762
Arethusa1764
honey flower1771
cypripedium1775
rattlesnake plantain1778
Venus's slipper1785
Adam and Eve1789
lizard orchis179.
epidendrum1791
Pogonia?1801
Vanda1801
cymbidium1815
Oncidium1822
putty-root1822
Noah's Ark1826
yellow moccasin1826
gongora1827
cattleya1828
green man1828
nervine1828
stanhopea1829
dove-flower1831
catasetum1836
Odontoglossum1836
Miltonia1837
letter plant1838
spread eagle1838
letter-leaf1839
swan-plant1841
orchid1843
disa1844
masdevallia1845
Phalaenopsis1846
faham1850
Indian crocus1850
moccasin plant1850
pleione1851
dove orchis1852
nerve root1854
Holy Ghost flower1862
basket-plant1865
lizard's tongue1866
mousetail1866
Sobralia1866
swan-neck1866
swanwort1866
Indian shoe1876
odontoglot1879
wreathewort1879
moth orchid1880
rattlesnake orchid1881
dendrobe1882
dove-plant1882
Madeira orchis1882
man orchis1882
swan-flower1884
slipper-orchid1885
slipper orchis1889
mayflower1894
scorpion orchid1897
moederkappie1910
dove orchid1918
monkey orchid1925
man orchid1927
1850 Cottage Gardener 21 Feb. 279/2 They are called in the East ‘The Indian crocus’, because they flower in spring, and garnish the meadows and hedge-banks in that luxuriant country.
1882 Garden 30 Sept. 304/1 Indian Crocuses..are now among the gayest occupants of Orchid houses.
1990 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 117 67/2 It deals with a group of orchids sometimes called Nepalese or Indian crocuses because of their colour and tendency to flower before the appearance of leaves.
Indian elephant n. the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, which is distinguished from the larger African elephant by its smaller ears, one-fingered trunk, and two-domed forehead, and is widely domesticated.The name Indian elephant is sometimes restricted to the widespread subspecies E. m. indicus.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Proboscidea (elephants) > [noun] > elephant > elephas maximus (Indian elephant)
elephant1340
Indian elephant1555
white elephant1555
1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 355 Of the Indian elephantes, only the males haue tuskes. But of them of Ethiopia and Lybia, both kyndes are tusked.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 192 The Indian Elephants are greatest, strongest, and tallest.
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Meleager & Atalanta 28 For Tusks with Indian Elephants he [sc. the boar] strove.
1872 C. Darwin Expression Emotions Man & Animals vi. 167 The Indian elephant is known sometimes to weep.
1937 Life 12 Apr. 34/2 The Indian elephant, unlike the African, is easily tamed... In captivity they live to be about 80 years old.
2001 Wildlife Soc. Bull. 29 1098/1 Rajaji National Park.., Corbett Tiger Reserve, and the adjoining forests include the northwestern Indian elephant population (approx. 1,000 elephants).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > pinks or carnations
gillyflower1517
carnation1538
clove gillyflower1538
incarnation1538
William1538
pink1566
John1572
Indian eye1573
sops-in-wine1573
sweet John1573
sweet-william1573
tuft gillyflower1573
Colmenier1578
small honesty1578
tol-me-neer1578
London tuft1597
maidenly pink1597
mountain pink1597
clove-carnation1605
musk-gillyflower1607
London pride1629
pride of London1629
maiden pink1650
Indian pink1664
Spanish pink1664
pheasant's eye pink1718
flake1727
flame1727
picotee1727
old man's head1731
painted lady1731
piquet1731
China-pink1736
clove1746
wild pink1753
lime-wort1777
matted thrift1792
clove-pink1837
Cheddar Pink1843
Dianthus1849
bunch pink1857
perpetual-flowering carnation1861
cliff pink1863
meadow pink1866
musk carnation1866
Jack1873
wax-pink1891
Malmaison1892
grenadin1904
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 40v Indian eye sowe in Maye, or set in slips in Marche.
1879 R. C. A. Prior On Pop. Names Brit. Plants (ed. 3) 74 In Tusser called ‘Indian eye’, L. ocellus, as in the name of the carnation, ocellus Damascenus, from the eye-shaped marking of the corolla, Dianthus, L.
Indian geranium n. the grass palmarosa, Cymbopogon martinii, which yields a fragrant oil; this oil itself, used chiefly in perfumery.
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1824 R. Heber Jrnl. 3 Aug. in Narr. Journey Upper Provinces India (1828) I. ix. 186 A shrub whose deep scarlet flowers very much resemble the geranium, and thence called the Indian geranium.
1922 J. J. Sudborough Bernthsen's Text-bk. Org. Chem. (new ed.) xli. 606 Geraniol..is the chief constituent (90 per cent) of Indian geranium oil and of palma-rosa oil, which are largely used for adulterating rose oil.
2005 North Devon Jrnl. (Nexis) 26 May 8 Essential oil of palmarosa has been distilled since the 18th century. It was originally called Turkish or Indian geranium. It does have a hint of geranium about its floral, rosy-lemon aroma.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > heart-pea
heart pea1597
Indian heart1597
winter cherry1597
heart-seed1759
balloon vine1835
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 271 The blacke winter Cherrie is called..in English the Indian hart, or hart Pease.
1693 N. Staphorst tr. L. Rauwolf Trav. Eastern Countries ii. viii, in J. Ray Coll. Curious Trav. I. 193 The lesser is with its hard shell of the bigness of a Pea, and are shaped like unto an Hart, or the Dora, that is, the Indian-Hart.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 174/1 Cardiospermum Corindum, Heart-seed, Indian Heart.
Indian laburnum n. the golden shower, Cassia fistula.
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1840 Jrnl. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 9 ii. 1072 Indian laburnum.
1884 R. Folkard Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics ii. 272 Anglo-Indians call the Cassia Fistula, or Umultuss-tree, the Indian Laburnum: its long cylindrical pods are imported into England, and a sugary substance extracted from the pulp between the seeds is commonly used as a laxative.
1920 J. W. Coombes Making of Men xvi. 198 The gorgeous flowering trees in the place are..the Cassia fistula, or the Indian Laburnum, with its bloom of yellow flowers on a long central axis, hanging down in clusters at the end of branches and overpowering the atmosphere with its scent.
1963 E. H. Schafer Golden Peaches of Samarkand xi. 189 ‘Indian laburnum,’ or ‘golden shower,’or more prosaically ‘purging cassia,’ was for the Indians ‘gold-colored’ and ‘king's tree,’ and for the Arabs ‘Indian carob’ or ‘cucumber of necklaces.’
2002 Food Chem. 79 61/2 A lesser-known legume, Indian Laburnum (Cassia fistula) has been used for the antioxidant studies since it is already known to be of good medicinal value.
Indian laurel n. †(a) the oleander, Nerium oleander (obsolete); (b) any of several fig trees of the genus Ficus (family Moraceae), esp. F. microcarpa, native to Sri Lanka to South-East Asia but commonly grown elsewhere as an ornamental; (c) any of several trees of the genus Terminalia (family Combretaceae), esp. T. alata, native chiefly to India and Burma (Myanmar) and bearing terminal spikes of yellow flowers; (also) the dark hardwood produced by this tree and others of the genus.
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1718 R. Bradley New Improvem. Planting & Gardening: Pt. 3 252 The Oleander, or Nerium, which some call the Indian Laurel, has many Varieties.
1804 J. Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. (new ed.) IV. 30 The Indian laurel and the camphor tree are found in the high central parts of Japan.
1922 Times 17 July 15/7 The wood used in the square voting lobbies north and south of the chamber is Indian laurel.
1931 Geogr. Jrnl. 78 173 There is no mention of the so-called Indian laurel (Terminalia tomentosa) or of padauk.
2002 OG Nov. 22/2 The couple first shielded the property from the busy street by planting a line of Indian laurel (Ficus microcarpa).
Indian leaf n. now historical the aromatic leaf of any of several South Asian trees of the genus Cinnamomum (family Lauraceae); = Malabar leaf n. at Malabar n. Compounds 2 (cf. malabathrum n.).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > cinnamon trees > bark, wood, or leaf
cinnamonc1430
xylocinnamon1555
Indian leaf1649
canella1756
massoy1801
sintoc1842
1649 N. Culpeper Physicall Directory 38 Malabathrum. Indian-leaf, hot and dry in the second degree, comforts the stomach exceedingly.
1671 W. Salmon Synopsis Medicinæ iii. xxii. 401 Indian-leaf; its virtues are the same with Mace and Spicknard.
1765 T. H. Croker et al. Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. II Indian Leaf, Malabathrum,..the leaf of a tree brought from the East-Indies.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants , Cinnamomum Malabathrum Indian, or Malabar, Leaf.
1964 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 54 42/2 Folia indica... The Indian Leaf; the aromatic leaf of a species of Cinnamomum, probably C. zeylanicum.
Indian lotus n. an Asian water plant, Nelumbo nucifera, bearing large, fragrant, white or pink flowers, which is sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists and is the national flower of India and Vietnam; also called sacred lotus.Formerly regarded as a water lily, the Indian lotus is now often placed in a separate family, Nelumbonaceae. It is unrelated to the blue lotus that was sacred in Ancient Egypt ( Nymphaea caerulea).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > water-lilies
edockec1000
water rose?a1300
mead-flower?a1350
water beanc1400
water coltsfoot14..
nenuphar?a1425
water lily?a1425
lotec1487
lotusc1487
nymphaea1543
water-can1622
can-dock1661
lotus flower1710
pond lily1748
Indian lotus1797
padma1799
Nuphar1822
beaver-root1832
splatterdock1832
frog-lily1845
brandy-bottle1846
Victoria1846
water nymph1848
lotus lily1857
cow-lily1862
pool lily1902
1797 Trans. Royal Irish Acad. 6 Antiquities 4 The flower she [sc. the goddess Latchemy] holds in her right hand is the Taumaray or Indian lotus.
1854 J. G. Wilkinson Pop. Acct. Anc. Egyptians I. i. 57 But it is singular that, while the lotus is so often represented, no instance occurs on the monuments of the Indian lotus, or Nelumbium.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1160 The Indian Lotus has been known to germinate after having lain dormant for at least one century and perhaps for four centuries.
2006 M. J. Ingrouille & B. Eddie Plants: Diversity & Evol. vii. 363 The Indian Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) was introduced [to Egypt] in the Persian period.
Indian madder n. either of two Indian plants of the family Rubiaceae which yield a red dye, munjeet, Rubia cordifolia, and chay, Oldenlandia umbellata; the roots of either of these plants used for dyeing.
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1804 J. Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. (new ed.) II. 212 We cannot omit however the indigo and the oldenlandia, (Indian madder,) whence the beautiful colours of the Indian chintzes are procured.
1869 Trans. Ethnol. Soc. London 7 10 The Indian madder..is for the most part a different species of the same genus, and bears in Sanskrit the name of majith.
1911 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 280/1 Madder.., the root of..R. cordifolia, a native of the hilly districts of India..supplying the Indian madder or manjit.
1957 R. H. Thomson Naturally Occurring Quinones iv. 161 This is the simplest of the group of closely related anthraquinones which occur in chay root or Indian madder, Oldenlandia umbellata.., formerly cultivated in India for use in dyeing.
1987 D. J. Mabberley Plant-bk. 509 Rubia... Source of dyes & local medic[ines] etc. esp. R. cordifolia L. (Indian madder, munjeet).
Indian mahogany n. the toon or red cedar, Toona ciliata (family Meliaceae); the wood of this.
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1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 42/2 Toon-wood is extensively employed in India for making furniture and cabinet-work. It is sometimes called Indian mahogany, and sometimes Indian cedar.
1938 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) II. 439/2 The Cedrela Toona, the Toon or Indian mahogany tree, is a large tree 50–60ft.
2001 B. P. Pandey Taxon. Angiosperms (ed. 6) 261 Toona ciliata..; Eng.—Red cedar... This is a good timber tree and sometimes known as ‘Indian Mahogany’.
Indian mallow n. any of various shrubby mallows of the genus Abutilon and related genera; esp. the yellow-flowered A. theophrasti of South Asia, which yields a fibre resembling jute and is widely naturalized (also called Chinese jute, velvetleaf).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > mallow flowers
abutilon1578
yellow mallow1597
Indian mallow1699
lavatera1731
modesty1809
butter print1872
Mormon weed1872
old maid1880
1699 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 21 65 Those [Alceæ] of the Second Kind, or Indian Mallows, which he [sc. Hermans] calls by the Name of Althææ, bring forth Seeds either angulose or round.
1754 Catal. Seeds in Family Rose of Kilravock (1848) 428 Curled-leaved mallow...Abutilon, (Indian mallow).
1872 Trans. Dept. Agric. State Illinois 1871 9 p. ix The Indian Mallow (Abutilon Avacennae) variously known as ‘stamp weed,’ ‘velvet leaf,’ ‘butter print,’ ‘Mormon weed,’ etc.
1974 S. Clapham Greenhouse Bk. xviiii. 184 Abutilon (Indian Mallow). Half-hardy shrubs with bell-shaped or lantern-like flowers in summer and autumn.
2004 D. F. Austin Florida Ethnobot. 57/1 Abutilon permolle..[coastal] Indian mallow (Florida, Caribbean).
Indian mourner n. now rare = sad tree n.
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1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. cxxxlviii. 1342 Of the Sorrowfull tree, or Indian Mourner... Arbor tristis, the sad or sorrowfull tree waxeth as bigge as an Oliue tree, garnished with manie goodly branches, set full of leaues like those of the Plum tree.
1635 J. Swann Speculum Mundi (ed. 2) vi. §4. 281 There is also another tree which some call the Indian mourner, or Arbore triste, the sad and sorrowfull tree.
1840 J. Taylor Topogr. & Statistics Dacca ii. 57 The sorrowful tree, or Indian Mourner, so named from the drooping withered look of the flowers during the day.
1946 A. P. Benthall Trees of Calcutta 299 Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis..night-flowering jasmine, Indian mourner, sorrowful tree.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Carnivora > [noun] > family Herpestidae > genus Herpestes (mongoose)
ichneumon1572
rat of Inde1601
Pharaoh's rat1605
Indian mouse1607
Pharaoh's mouse1607
Indian rat1613
mongoose1673
mungo1752
vansire1774
yellow mongoose1917
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 448 Marcellus and Solinus, doe make question of this beast (Ichneumon) to be a kind of Otter... There be some that call it an Indian Mouse.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. Indian Mouse, a little Creature that creeps into the Mouths of Crocodiles, and eating up their Entrails kills them.
1763 R. Brookes New Syst. Nat. Hist. I. xvi. 301 The Tree-striped Indian Mouse, living in cocoa-nut trees... This is by him [sc. Ray] called a Mangust, being the name given it by the natives... The body is in shape like that of a Weasel.
Indian oak n. now rare the teak, Tectona grandis.
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1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia Index p. xi/2 Teke, the Indian Oak.
1781 S. Pechel Hist. Acct. Bombay 8 The Teke tree, called by Fryer the Indian oak, grows in all those parts.
1851 F. Lieber & E. Wigglesworth Encycl. Amer. (new ed.) II. 112/1 Timber for ship-building, especially teak or Indian oak, which grows most luxuriantly in a wet soil, on the banks of rivers, is abundant.
a1924 M. Ghose Coll. Poems (1970) I. 185 And the mighty Teak, Toughest Indian Oak.
1999 J. H. Wiersema & B. León World Econ. Plants 491/1 Tectona grandis... Bankok teak; Indian-oak; teak.
Indian ox n. †(a) (perhaps) a kind of wild Asian ox (obsolete rare); (b) the Brahmin or zebu, Bos indicus.
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1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 725 The Indian Oxen are said to bee as high as a Cammell, and their horne foure foote broad.
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 29 (margin) in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors The Indian Oxen as metalsome as the Horses in Germany.
1771 T. Pennant Synopsis Quadrupeds (plate facing p. 6) Greater and Lesser Indian Ox.
1870 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 14 362 The cattle of the island belong to the same species as the zebu or Indian ox.
2002 R. A. Lewis CRC Dict. Agric. Sci. 206/1 B. indicus (Asiatic domestic cattle; brahman; zebu; Indian ox). a species of domestic cattle..of Asia and Africa.
Indian rat n. now historical and rare = Indian mouse n.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Carnivora > [noun] > family Herpestidae > genus Herpestes (mongoose)
ichneumon1572
rat of Inde1601
Pharaoh's rat1605
Indian mouse1607
Pharaoh's mouse1607
Indian rat1613
mongoose1673
mungo1752
vansire1774
yellow mongoose1917
1613 R. Dallington Aphorismes Ciuill & Militarie 71 While the Crocodile sleepes gaping with open mouth, the Indian Ratt shootes himselfe into his belly, and gnawes his guts in sunder.
1742 C. Owen Nat. Hist. Serpents i. iii. 10 In form it resembles an over-grown Rat, and is called the Indian-Rat, and Pharaoh's Rat.
1951 J. Bowle Hobbes & his Critics vi. 118 He cites the vulnerability of the elephant to the mouse, which runs up its trunk and eats its brain so that the animal dies mad, and the story of the Indian rat and the crocodile.
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1601 W. Walker tr. J. C. van Neck Jrnl. Voy. Eight Shippes of Amsterdam f. 8v A bird, which we named Indian Rauen, almost as big agane as a Parret, they are of two or three sundrie colours.
1675 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 10 485 The tasting of the Indian Raven of Nutmegs, on which he feeds.
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. ii. 126 Bontius his Indian Raven. There is a strange kind of Raven in the Molucca Islands.., which resembles our Country Raven in the Bill.
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. ii. 127 (heading) The horned Indian Raven or Topau, called the Rhinocerot Bird.
1752 J. Hill Gen. Nat. Hist. III. 383 Buceros niger..in shape somewhat resembles the crow kind, whence, and from it's size, it has been called the Indian Raven.
1858 A. M. Redfield Zoöl. Sci. 351 What is said of the Indian Raven?
Indian rhinoceros n. a large one-horned rhinoceros, Rhinoceros unicornis, with prominent skin folds and a prehensile upper lip, found in north-east India and Nepal. In quot. 1760 the animal designated an African rhinoceros could plausibly be describing an Indian rhinoceros, while the supposed Indian rhinoceros of this text has possibly been confused with a mythical creature, being described as having three horns, and scales.
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1760 G. Sale et al. in Mod. Part Universal Hist. XIV. 76 There is a manifest difference between the African and Indian rhinoceros.]
1823 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 586/2 The larger animals, besides the elephant and the Indian rhinoceros, are the double-horned rhinoceros of Africa, the double-horned rhinoceros of Sumatra, the hippopotamus, [etc.].
1930 W. M. Mann Wild Animals in & out of Zoo xvi. 205 One might truly say that the most magnificent animal in any zoo is an adult Indian rhinoceros.
2002 G. M. Eberhart Mysterious Creatures II. 568/2 The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornus) is the best-known single-horned mammal and one whose history is intertwined with ancient accounts of the Unicorn.
Indian robin n. the black-backed robin, Saxicoloides fulicata, which is mainly blue-black or dark brown with a chestnut vent, found throughout South Asia.
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1839 Madras Jrnl. Lit. & Sci. 10 264 This well known bird..is tolerably common in most parts of the country, and its familiar habits have gained for it the name of ‘Indian Robin’.
1855 W. S. Dallas in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature III. 307 The Thamnobia fulicata, or Indian Robin, even exceeds his European representative in boldness and familiarity.
1963 Jrnl. Parasitol. 49 497/1 Nymphs parasitize a variety of ground-feeding birds including the Red-winged Bush Lark, Indian Robin, Common Babbler.., and House Sparrow.
Indian runner n. (more fully Indian runner duck) a breed of duck with a slender body, upright stance, and typically white or fawn plumage, originating in South Asia, and kept chiefly for egg laying; a duck of this breed.
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1878 Live Stock Jrnl. Almanack 103/2 Several letters have lately appeared concerning what are generally known as Indian runner ducks.
1895 Oelwein (Iowa) Reg. 22 Aug. During the past few years now and again, references have been made to a duck called the Indian Runner and when traveling in Cumberland and North Lancashire I have been surprised to see the large numbers of this variety of waterfowl.
1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. 24 Feb. (1993) III. 231 I feel we must keep bees, a cow, fowls, 2 turkeys, some indian runner ducks, a goat, and perhaps a thoroughly striking beast like a unicorn or a dragon.
1998 Guardian 19 Feb. i. 16/6 My favourites are still the white Indian runners: they make me smile every time I see them walking, as they have such an upright stance that they look comical.
Indian walnut n. the candlenut or candleberry tree, Aleurites moluccana (family Euphorbiaceae), widely grown in the tropics.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > plant, nut, or bean yielding oil > [noun] > trees or shrubs yielding oil > Asian > tung or candlenut tree or bean
Indian walnut1831
candle-nut1835
candle-nut tree1854
candleberry tree1866
kukui1866
tung1889
tung oil tree1913
tung nut1937
1831 J. A. St. John Lives Celebrated Travellers I. 161 Lofty forests of incomparable beauty, among which the most magnificent fruit-trees, such as the Indian walnut, the fawfel, and the amba, were interspersed.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xix. 580 The ‘Candle Nut,’ also known as ‘Indian Walnut,’‘Country Walnut’... As a source of oil this species is worthy of more consideration.
2002 Oilseeds, Veg. Oils & Fats—Nomencl. (B.S.I.) 2/3 Aleurites moluccana (L.) Willd... Candle nut. Indian walnut... Candle nut oil. Artist's oil. Lumbang oil. Kukui oil.
b. Of, relating to, or characteristic of American Indians (see sense A. 2).
(a) † Indian bed n. Obsolete rare a layer of clams arranged on the ground for roasting; cf. clambake n.† Indian liquor n. Obsolete diluted or otherwise adulterated alcoholic drink intended for North American Indians.† Indian smoke n. Obsolete tobacco smoke.
Indian agent n. (also with capital initial in the second element) now chiefly historical an official authorized to represent the U.S. federal government in its dealings with a North American Indian people; (in Canada) the chief government administrator for Indian affairs in a district.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > in U.S.
fence-viewer1661
county commissioner1668
naval officer1702
agent1707
processioner1731
Indian agent1766
processionary1890
trustbuster1893
1766 W. Johnson Let. 23 Jan. in R. Rogers Jrnls. (1883) 216 As Commandant and Indian Agent, it will be extremely difficult to check him.
1789 Rep. Bureau Arch. Ont. (1905) III. 5 Board adjourned until the arrival of Alex. McKee, the Indian agent from the Ottawa River.
1816 Register of Officers & Agents U.S. 62 Indian agents have been allowed from 2 to 8 rations per day in addition to their annual compensation.
1915 F. H. Abbot Administration Indian Affairs in Canada 24 The Indian agent is ex-officio a justice of the peace and has the power and authority of two justices of the peace within the territorial limits of his jurisdiction.
1933 Beaver June 53 Upon the arrival of the Indian agent, the payment of the treaty money is usually first proceeded with.
2002 Arizona Highways Oct. 33/1 Indian Agent John Clum was ordered to close the Chiracahua reservation.
Indian agency n. (also with capital initial in the second element) now chiefly historical the office or headquarters of an Indian agent.
ΚΠ
1822 J. Morse Rep. Indian Affairs i. 39 Should the Government establish a military post here it will be very important..that..an Indian agency should be planted..near it.
1908 S. Handsaker Pioneer Life 16 Near the bank of the river was a large building, the Indian agency.
1995 G. R. Alfred Heeding Voices our Ancestors iii. 56 The establishment of the Indian Act system brought with it an administrative link to the federal government through an Indian Agency located near, and later within, the reserve.
Indian awl n. a square double-ended awl used for piercing holes, esp. in leather or bark.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > for piercing or pricking > awl > types of
pritch-awl1594
prickal1688
stabber1794
sprig awla1815
sprig bit1815
Indian awl1821
bradawl1823
1821 G. Simpson Jrnl. Occurrences in Athabasca Dept. (1938) 142 Awls, Indian, doz.
1841 tr. in R. Bolton Hist. County Westchester (1848) 40 100 Indian awls.
1922 Beaver July 10/2 It requires but three tools to build a canoe: an axe, a ‘crooked knife’, and a square or Indian awl.
1986 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 5 Oct. 19/1 Lois Greene..seldom worked in her garden ‘without digging up something. My best find so far is an Indian awl’.
Indian ball n. (a) = baggataway n. (now rare); (b) a modified, informal form of baseball, played esp. by children on an improvised pitch.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > lacrosse > [noun]
baggataway1809
Indian ball1848
lacrosse1867
lax1951
1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 176 (margin) Indian Trap-ball.]
1848 J. W. Monette Hist. Discov. & Settlem. Valley of Mississippi (new ed.) I. iii. i. 330 They made arrangements for a great game of baggatiwâ or Indian ball, resembling the common game of racket.
1903 Z. Grey Betty Zane vi. 128 A well contested game of Indian ball presented a scene of wonderful effort and excitement. Hundreds of strong and supple braves could be seen running over the plain.
1943 N.Y. Times 21 Mar. e11/2 It was my lot to have to explain the games of swat ball and kick ball... Then to my horror I discovered that my assignment also included Indian ball and baseball cricket.
2008 Esquire (Electronic ed.) June They joined other kids at the park for long, long games of corkball, Indian ball, 500, or, if their numbers swelled, doubleheaders of baseball with complete teams.
Indian barn n. now historical a pit dug in the ground, lined with bark and covered with bark and soil, used by North American Indians for storing corn and other foodstuffs.
ΚΠ
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect i. vi. 22 There be so many old trees, rotten stumps, and Indian barnes, that a dog cannot well run without being shoulder-shot.
1736 J. Gyles Mem. Odd Adventures Captivity 11 We put some into Indian Barns, i.e. in Holes in the Ground lin'd and cover'd with Bark, and then with Dirt.
1857 J. S. C. Abbott Hist. King Philip iii. 97 One of the Weymouth men, ranging the woods, came to an Indian barn and stole some corn.
1925 W. Jennings Hist. Econ. Progress in U.S. (1926) ii. 25 The Pilgrims..found one of these Indian barns at Truro when they had only five kernels of corn to each individual.
2001 R. Thompson Divided We Stand 247 (note) On 3 June 1634 Watertown leader Thomas Mayhew valued the damage done by Charlestown's swine that had got into Indian barns of grain.
ΚΠ
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (at cited word) An Indian bed of clams is made by setting a number of clams together on the ground with the hinge uppermost, and then kindling over them a fire of brushwood.
Indian Bible n. now chiefly historical a Bible translated into a North American Indian language; esp. John Eliot's 1663 translation of the Bible into Massachusett (the first complete Bible published in North America).
ΚΠ
1663 J. Eliot Let. 6 May in R. Baxter Reliquæ Baxterianæ (1696) 293 My Work about the Indian Bible being..finished, I am meditating what to do next.
1791 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. II. xiv. 47 Governor Shute..introduced this important business by offering them..an Indian bible, and a protestant missionary.
1994 Amer. Q. 46 501 Most of the Indian Bibles that..Eliot printed were destroyed during the fighting.
Indian blanket n. a blanket made by or for North American Indians, and often used as a cloak (cf. matchcoat n. 1); (now also) a blanket made in imitation of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > loose clothing > cloak, mantle, or cape > blanket used as
Indian blanket1714
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > household linen > bedclothes > [noun] > blanket > blanket made for or by North American Indians
stroud1683
Indian blanket1714
pointed blanket1779
point blanket1783
mackinaw1836
Chilkat1890
Hudson Bay blanket1900
1714 in Acts Assembly New-York (1726) 105 Rum, Pork, Indian-Blankets, Flints, Knives, and other things.
1764 in New Jersey Archives (1902) 1st Ser. XXIV. 350 There are a blue Great Coat, and an Indian Blanket missing.
1807 Salmagundi 13 Feb. 49 The shawl..thrown over one shoulder, like an Indian blanket.
1927 W. Cather Death comes for Archbishop i. iii. 31 The earth floor was covered with thick Indian blankets; two blankets, very old, and beautiful in design and colour, were hung on the walls like tapestries.
1996 P. Gregory Perfectly Correct (1997) 275 People were camping in anything from deluxe explorer tents to Indian blankets.
Indian bureau n. a government office responsible for the administration of matters concerning American Indians; spec. (U.S.) the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > government department or agency > [noun] > U.S. government department or agency > specific
Navy Department1779
State Department1790
Indian bureau1824
Bureau of Indian Affairs1826
department of state1890
consumer unit1933
Foggy Bottom1947
state1952
U.S.I.A.1953
Ginnie Mae1968
1824 J. C. Calhoun Let. to T. Jefferson 19 Apr. in Amer. State Papers (Indian Affairs, volume 2) (1834) 511 The Cherokee Indians have claimed an annuity of $1,000... I herewith enclose..a statement of the case from Colonel McKenney, who has charge of the Indian bureau.
1875 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 19 292 This Indian Bureau and its agents have not made for themselves a very high character.
1972 Buenos Aires Herald 2 Feb. 7/1 Officials of Brazil's Indian Bureau here believe that numerous small tribes of Indians living along the projected new highway have never seen an outsider.
1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 24 Apr. 43/2 The Indian School itself was a great-hearted gesture of protest against Washington and the Indian Bureau.
Indian burn n. Children's slang (chiefly U.S.) = Chinese burn n. at Chinese adj. and n. Additions.
ΚΠ
1954 S. Fleisher Lion & Honeycomb xxi. 271 He twisted Otto's wrist in an Indian burn.
1963 D. Di Prima in A. Baraka Moderns 322 He takes her wrist, and gives her an indian burn.
1997 M. Groening et al. Simpsons: Compl. Guide 188/4 Indian burns are not our cultural heritage.
Indian claim n. an assertion by a North American Indian people of their right to a piece of land; a piece of land so claimed.
ΚΠ
1674 Plymouth Laws 172 Concerning Indian claimes that are..made to any lands within this Government.
1760 Ann. Reg. 1759 58/1 The province of New Jersey was now wholly discharged from all Indian claims.
1779 E. Wheelock Contin. Narr. Indian Charity-school 12 The patentees of provinces, whose jurisdiction extends into the Indian claims.
1856 G. Chambers Tribute to Irish & Sc. Early Settlers Pennsylvania iii. 64 The Kittochtinny mountains, of seventy miles in extent, being the frontier of the Province, and the Indian claim.
1919 F. A. Ogg Old Northwest v. 79 Officially, the United States recognized the validity of the Indian claims; but the pioneer homeseeker was not so certain to do so.
2008 Indian Country Today (Electronic ed.) 27 Feb. Congress frequently deals with Indian property and Indian claims by enacting legislation that would be forbidden by the Constitution if it affected anyone else's property or claims.
Indian country n. a land or territory controlled or inhabited by American Indians; (also in extended use) a place with hostile inhabitants, a dangerous area; in later use chiefly as a mass noun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > danger > [noun] > instance or cause of > dangerous place
the lion's moutha1225
unsanctuary?1617
Indian country1625
in the lion's paws1629
witch's cauldron1816
hot spot1837
no man's land1926
red zone1942
trouble spot1956
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes IV. Alphabet. Table Yupaha, an Indian country in Florida.
1785 Times 26 Jan. 3/4 [She] arrived..from the Indian country, where she has been prisoner for..two years.
1826 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 95 He traversed an immense extent of Indian country.
1984 P. Matthiessen Indian Country iii. 91 The crisis at Big Mountain..would become one of the most volatile in Indian country.
1989 S. Bellow Bellarosa Connection 33 In 1959 the Israelis were still shut out..; it was Indian country then.
2000 T. Clancy Bear & Dragon lvii. 901 Perk it up, people... We're in Indian Country.
Indian drug n. rare (with the) tobacco; cf. Indian weed n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > [noun]
petun1568
tobacco1588
Indian herbc1600
weed1600
Indian weed1602
man-bane1614
smokec1616
fogusc1625
Indian drug1630
sot-weed1698
noxious weed1773
baccy1792
backer1823
bacca1824
tobaccy1835
nicotia1868
nicotina1876
snout1885
Magaliesberg1895
tickler1904
burn1964
1630 J. Taylor Drunkard in Wks. 14 His breath compounded of strong English Beere, And th'Indian drug would suffer none come neere.
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang 127 Tobacco, bacca, backa, baccer,..the Indian drug, Lady Nicotine, nicotine, [etc.].
Indian fort n. now historical a fortified enclosure built (or used) by American Indians.
ΚΠ
1638 J. Underhill Newes from Amer. (title page) A trve relation of their War-like proceedings these two yeares last past, with a Figure of the Indian Fort, or Palizado.
1708 J. Oldmixon Brit. Empire in Amer. I. 70 They march'd immediately to Pechepscot an Indian Fort, which they found deserted.
1871 M. Schele de Vere Americanisms (1872) 25 Indian forts are inclosures, found in large numbers in New York and Pennsylvania.
1970 R. Silverberg Pueblo Revolt ix. 159 The palace of the governors was now an Indian fort.
2007 Republican (Springfield, Mass.) (Nexis) 9 Dec. c2 Richard C. Garvey..stated that an Indian fort was constructed on the property more than 300 years ago.
Indian gift n. a present given with the expectation of receiving an equivalent in return; (now chiefly) a present given and then demanded back.Now chiefly depreciative and often considered offensive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > gift or present > [noun] > for which return expected
Indian gift1765
1765 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 (ed. 2) 469 (note) An Indian gift is a proverbial expression, signifying a present for which an equivalent return is expected.
1791 J. Ingraham Jrnl. 10 Aug. in Jrnl. Brigantine Hope (1971) 130 I have often heard when a person gave anything away with an expectation of a return it was termed an Indian gift.
a1851 L. Woodbury Writings (1852) I. 200 If they take your gifts, they will prove like Indian gifts, for which you will exact, in return, much more in amount.
1879 B. F. Taylor Summer-savory xxvi. 207 She is glad it [sc. the check] is an ‘Indian gift’, that the conductor did not present it to her outright.
1940 M. Lowry Let. 27 July in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 341 Whether or not what I might have accomplished was in the nature of an Indian gift to either of you I wasn't so sure.
1997 Wicazo Sa Rev. 12 195 Indian gift, originally an expression signifying a present for which an equivalent is expected, was corrupted to mean (as it does today), a gift that is taken back.
Indian giver n. a person who gives an Indian gift.Now chiefly depreciative and often considered offensive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > [noun] > giver > expecting a return
Indian giver1838
1838 N.-Y. Mirror 23 June 412 I have seen the finger pointed at the Indian giver. (One who gives a present and demands it back again.)
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms 189 Indian giver, when an Indian gives anything, expects an equivalent in return, or that the same thing may be given back to him.
1857 G. Stearns Mistake of Christendom III. iii. 310 Our Heavenly Father..is not ‘an Indian-giver’, as Job imagined; but, ever bestowing, he never takes away.
1904 N.Y. Herald 10 Sept. 5 Later he took the position of the ‘Indian giver’ and wanted the money back.
2007 Brockville (Ont.) Recorder & Times (Nexis) Oct. 20 c1 ‘What's this?’ he asked. Puzzled, I said, ‘It's the Erma Bombeck book you gave me to read’. He pushed it back at me. ‘Do you think I'm an Indian giver?’
Indian giving n. the action or practice of giving Indian gifts.Now chiefly depreciative and often considered offensive.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > [noun] > giving in expectation of return
Indian giving1837
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville II. vi. 71 His experience in what is proverbially called ‘Indian giving’ made him aware that a parting pledge was necessary on his own part.
1897 Harper's Mag. June 94/2 Here was no Indian-giving. On the contrary, this Boer had put it out of the power of the American to discover even the name or whereabouts of the strange giver.
1962 B. Spock Probl. of Parents (1968) ii. 50 The one-year-old who has yelled bloody murder during his physical examination may, ten minutes later..sweetly hand him a toy and then take it back. This latter trick may look like Indian giving.
2007 Newcastle (Austral.) Herald (Nexis) 22 Nov. 10 Mr Howard might be offering something in one hand, but we'll be paying it back with the other because of the recent interest rate hike... It's a bit like Indian giving.
Indian harvest n. now historical and rare the harvest of Indian corn or maize.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > harvesting > [noun] > harvest > specific harvest
barley-harvest1611
Indian harvest1639
oleity1656
corn-harvest1670
ice harvest1833
1639 in Publ. Maryland Hist. Soc. (1874) 73 To the hope of the Indian harvest, are to be added also no mean fruits reaped from the colony and its inhabitants.
1707 in N. Bouton Provinc. Papers New-Hampsh. (1868) II. 566 Which will last till the Indian Harvest is over.
1874 L. Bacon Genesis New Eng. Churches xix. 432 After the Indian harvest..they loaded one of their two shallops with corn, and sent her..to trade with the savages.
1912 Colorado Springs (Colorado) Gaz. 1 Oct. 4/3 (heading) Indian Harvest.
Indian head n. [perhaps named after the Indian Head Mill in New Hampshire, where this type of material was originally produced] a type of sturdy cotton material woven to appear like linen crash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > cotton > [noun] > stout or strong
shirting1604
Indian head1839
Grenfell cloth1926
1839 Alton (Illinois) Tel. 27 Apr. 5 bales 7-8 ‘Indian Head’ shirtings.
1885 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 24 Aug. 3/5 2000 yds domestic, Indian head.
1923 Today's Housewife Aug. 10/3 (caption) Cross stitch baskets..are embroidered in this..center of fine Indian Head.
1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 183/1 Indian head, trade name for sturdy, firm, cotton material of linen-weave, made in many lovely colors. Used for work, play, and sports clothing and for home furnishings.
1998 Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail (Nexis) 30 June 1 c From a few yards of Indian head cotton, I whipped up a pair of green and white striped capri pants and a jacket in solid green trimmed with the striped fabric.
Indian herb n. now historical (frequently with the) tobacco; cf. Indian weed n. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > [noun]
petun1568
tobacco1588
Indian herbc1600
weed1600
Indian weed1602
man-bane1614
smokec1616
fogusc1625
Indian drug1630
sot-weed1698
noxious weed1773
baccy1792
backer1823
bacca1824
tobaccy1835
nicotia1868
nicotina1876
snout1885
Magaliesberg1895
tickler1904
burn1964
c1600 Return: 1st Pt. i. i, in Three Parnassus Plays (1949) 157 Longe for a rewarde maye your wittes be warmde with the Indian herbe.
1703 L. Spooner Looking-glass for Smoakers 21 If that I would take The Indian Herb, it might produce a Cure Of all the Relicks that I did endure.
1800 B. Thompson tr. A. von Kotzebue Indian Exiles i. 17 He speaks but little—he chews some Indian herb.
1890 A. Lang Old Friends xvi. 135 The wanton misuse, or rather the misuseful wantonness, of the Indian herb.
2007 Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance (Nexis) 19 July c2 Smoking tobacco reached the shores of England at an early date and was known as an Indian herb.
Indian ladder n. a ladder made from a tree trunk, with footholds created by notching the trunk or cutting back its branches.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > [noun] > other ladders
rope ladder1658
tackling-ladder1680
Indian ladder1715
peg ladder1854
hook-ladder1858
cat-ladder1883
1715 J. Reading Jrnl. 19 May in Proc. New Jersey Hist. Soc. (1915) 3rd Ser. 10 41 S. G. and I went up..to a rock which shoots from the hill to the river..about 20 foot high, against which we set an Indian ladder.
a1854 J. F. Kelly Humors of Falconbridge (1856) 68 An Indian ladder, that is, a scrubby saplin', trimmed with footholds left on it, was laying against the old tree.
1929 L. P. Summers Ann. Southwest Virginia 1517 It is very easy to ascend and descend, as the limbs usually begin at the ground, and being cut off about a foot from the trunk, a very convenient ‘Indian ladder’ is formed.
1999 Toronto Sun (Nexis) 12 Dec. 10 Up until 1818, other venturers descended to the base of the falls by virtue of an ‘Indian ladder’.
ΚΠ
1858 Lorain County (Ohio) Eagle 21 July 2/4 A barrel of the ‘pure Cincinnati’..is a sufficient basis upon which to manufacture one hundred barrels of ‘good Indian liquor’!
1872 M. S. De Vere Americanisms i. 27 It is a sad index to the nature of the vast majority of such transactions between white and red men, that the term Indian Liquor is universally known to mean adulterated whiskey. Nor is water the only element of adulteration: tobacco, red pepper, and other condiments are apt to be added in large quantities by dishonest dealers and agents.
Indian money n. now historical = wampum n. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > beads
roanoke1615
wampumpeag1627
Indian money1634
wampum1636
peag1638
seawant1701
hiaqua1824
shell-money1851
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect Gloss. Wampompeage, Indian money.
1737 J. Brickell Nat. Hist. N.-Carolina 337 As they are unacquainted with the value of Gold or Silver, they prefer their Indian-Money before it.
1856 F. Bowen Princ. Polit. Econ. xviii. 285 Our Puritan fathers, having very little silver and gold, gravely adopted this Indian money.
1909 Jrnl. Amer. Folklore 22 29 In the house there were many things—beads, Indian money,..and all kinds of meats.
1998 Tampa (Florida) Tribune (Nexis) 28 June 4 The Indian tribes were attracted to the Hampton shores because it abounded in periwinkle and conch shells which were the basis of wampum, Indian money.
Indian mound n. a mound or earthwork erected by prehistoric American Indians as a burial place, fortification, altar, etc.; cf. mound n.2 4a.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > mound or dome
mind hilla1425
mound1775
Indian mound1791
tope1815
tell1840
stupa1841
ruin-mound1911
ahu1917
ishan1921
pillow mound1928
1791 in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1794) 1st Ser. III. 24 There is an Indian mound, the base of which is about three hundred paces round, and rises in a conic form about one hundred feet.
1862 D. Wilson Prehistoric Man I. xiv. 433 The reasoning, however, is equally fallacious which assumes..that therefore the Cholula pyramid is a mere Indian mound.
1949 Illinois State Archaeol. Soc. Jrnl. Jan. 7/2 When the term, ‘Indian Mound’, is mentioned, one naturally thinks of a large ceremonial Mound which covers one to three acres of ground and is perhaps five or ten or even 20 feet in height.
2006 L. H. McMillin Buried Indians iii. xvi. 220 Indian mounds suddenly became for him something more than heaps of dirt; for Harold, they became analogous to the graves of loved ones, not to be disturbed.
Indian nation n. = nation n.1 5.In earlier use perhaps not a fixed collocation.In quot. 1596 with reference to South America.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinship group > tribe > [noun] > American Indian
Indian nation1596
nation1650
1596 W. Raleigh Second Voy. Guiana in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1600) III. 691 The Indian nations inhabiting betweene the coast of The Caracas and Guiana,..haue now turned their abused patience into furie.
c1622 J. Pory Let. in Lost Descr. Plymouth Colony (1918) ii. 44 They of New Plymmouth relate an Indian nation of man-eaters called Monhaccke.
1710 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) VI. 571 Four Indian sachems, or kings of the 5 Indian nations, lately arrived here.
1814 H. M. Brackenridge Views Louisiana 82 All these nations speak the Mobilian, which was formerly the court language amongst the Indian nations of Lower Louisiana.
1865 J. Pike Scout & Ranger (1932) 11 At Fort Smith we entered the Indian Nation.
1961 W. Brandon Indians 200/2 The British government secured permission from such intact Indian nations as the Iroquois, Cherokee, and Creeks, and expanded settlement once again.
1994 Harper's Mag. June 34/1 Illegally roaming the Indian Nations, hiding from the law, selling whiskey, stealing livestock.
Indian orchard n. now historical an orchard grown in a manner traditional among North American Indians, spec. one which comprises ungrafted fruit trees.
ΚΠ
1798 C. Williamson Descr. Genesee Country 12 The old Indian orchards had been dressed up and the fruit secured from depredation.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 3) Indian orchard, an old orchard of ungrafted apple-trees.
2007 S. S. Gronim Everyday Nature iv. 97 When Smith encountered an abandoned Indian orchard, he noticed that they had planted the trees not in rows as colonists did but irregularly.
Indian path n. a (usually narrow) footpath or track made by North American Indians; any path resembling this.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun] > through forest, wood, or fields
wayOE
chare12..
Indian path1634
rackway1685
drive1797
Indian trail1813
wood-road1821
1634 W. Wood New Englands Prospect ii. vii. 71 An Indian path (which seldome is broader than a Cart's rutte).
1794 A. Thomas Newfoundland Jrnl. (1968) iv. 63 I shall resume my journey..endeavouring as well as I can to give you an Idea of an Indian Path in Newfoundland.
1855 J. S. C. Abbott Hist. Hernando Cortez xi. 314 Suddenly, to their great joy, they came upon an Indian path. This soon conducted them to a village.
1903 Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. & Social Sci. 21 149 The Lake Shore Trail, the Great Trail..and several other Indian paths of the middle West.
2007 Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 4 Dec. d1 He centered it on the intersection of two Indian paths: the Venango trail, now Federal Street, and the Great Path, now Ohio Street.
Indian pudding n. U.S. regional (chiefly New England) (a) a dish consisting of cornmeal boiled in water or milk, usually eaten for breakfast; cf. hasty pudding n. (now historical); (b) a baked dish consisting primarily of cornmeal, usually sweetened with molasses and eaten as a dessert.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > other puddings
alker1381
moile1381
tansyc1450
tansy-cakea1475
hasty pudding1598
hodge-puddinga1616
bread pudding1623
marrowbone pudding1623
marrow-pudding1631
turmeric puddinga1704
Indian pudding1722
Westminster fool1723
pease pudding1725
pone1725
bread and butter pudding1727
custard pudding1727
purry1751
tartan-purry1751
tansy-pudding1769
vermicelli pudding1769
skimmer-cake1795
dogsbody1818
kugel1823
stickjaw1827
kheer1832
pea pudding1844
dough1848
mousseline1876
mousse1885
goose-pudding1892
payasam1892
tartan1893
malva puddinga1981
1722 New-England Courant 26 Mar. 2/2 A Plain Indian Pudding, being put into the Pot and boil'd the usual Time, it came out of a Blood-red colour, to the surprise of the whole Family.
1771 J. Adams Diary 10 June (1961) II. 33 Just as they had got their Indian Pudding and their Pork and Greens upon the Table.
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. iii. i. 124 He was making his breakfast from a prodigious earthen dish, filled with milk and Indian pudding.
1841 N. Hawthorne Grandfather's Chair 70 Having always fed heartily on pumpkin pies, dough nuts, Indian puddings, and other Puritan dainties, she was as round and plump as a pudding herself.
1888 J. Q. Bittinger Hist. Haverhill, N.H. 358 The Indian pudding was a great favorite, if we may judge from the frequency with which it made its appearance at meal time.
1941 C. E. Crane Winter in Vermont 172 Indian pudding, made of cornmeal, molasses, ginger, and milk, is entitled to an A-1 rating as a cold-weather dessert.
1988 Gourmet Oct. 136/3 The Whitehall Inn in Camden, Maine, serves a delicious Indian pudding.
2005 R. A. Radune Pequot Plantation xi. 151 Porridge was called cornmeal mush, pap, Indian pudding or hasty pudding.
Indian reservation n. an area of land set apart by the government for occupation by American Indians; cf. reservation n. 9.Chiefly in U.S. contexts, Indian reserve being the more usual term in Canada.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > reservation for indigenous people
reserve1667
Indian reserve1752
reservation1792
Indian reservation1804
station1825
location1833
native reserve1842
native location1866
res1880
native location1928
township1934
homeland1959
1804 Laws State N.-Y. III. cvi. 365 How to sell the lands in the Indian reservations, not otherwise directed to be sold.
1819 D. Thomas Trav. Western Country 12 This tract is an Indian reservation.
1954 H. Evans Mist on River 43 She said that this fall or next..she would try to get him into an Indian reservation school.
1985 European Stars & Stripes (Darmstadt, Germany) 5 Nov. 16/2 Roughly 100 people..flew to the Xingu Indian reservation, about 500 miles from the inland capital of Brasilia, to attend the Kuarup ritual.
2002 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 29 Oct. e2 A fancy resort casino, more like the Land of Oz than an Indian reservation.
Indian reserve n. an Indian reservation.Chiefly in Canadian contexts, Indian reservation being the more usual term in the United States.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [noun] > reservation for indigenous people
reserve1667
Indian reserve1752
reservation1792
Indian reservation1804
station1825
location1833
native reserve1842
native location1866
res1880
native location1928
township1934
homeland1959
1752 W. Douglass Summary State Brit. Settlements N.-Amer. II. x. 80 In Charlestown is the Narraganset Indian Reserve.
1818 F. Hall Trav. Canada & U.S. 131 The river Credit is an Indian reserve, well stocked with salmon.
1900 Westm. Gaz. 15 Jan. 10/1 The Six Nations Indian Reserve, Ontario... The Six Nation Indians number 3,500 to 4,000 souls.
1972 Economist 2 Sept. 15/3 Today, through..the system of Indian reserves and the justly celebrated work of the Vilas-Boas brothers, the government has come to the rescue of the tribes that remain in the Mato Grosso.
1995 E. Kallen Ethnicity & Human Rights Canada (ed. 2) vi. 128 The alteration of aboriginal geopolitical boundaries through the establishment of Indian reserves and Inuit settlements.
Indian ring n. (also with capital initial in second element) now historical a circle of U.S. politicians and traders alleged to have benefited from corrupt and fraudulent practices involving government money intended for North American Indians during the late 1860s and early 1870s.
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1868 N.Y. Times 31 May 1/5 Mr. Washburne, of Illinois, denounced it [sc. a proposed issue of bonds to the Choctaw Indians] as a measure got up by the ‘Indian ring’.
1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West xix. 361 Fuller had been engaged in some questionable transactions with the Indian ring.
2000 R. Wilhelmsen Curse of Destiny iii. 26 Obtaining hard evidence of the corruption was a tough task, because the Indian Ring protected its own and covered its tracks well.
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > [noun] > tobacco smoke
Indian smoke1626
Indian fume1627
Virginian vapour1631
funk1699
1626 L. Owen Running Reg. 50 They spend it all most lewdly in good liquor and Indian smoake.
a1657 G. Daniel Poems (1878) II. 26 Keep the Round of good Societie, In high-pris'd Indian Smoke.
1680 W. Winstanley New Help to Disc. (ed. 2) 92 Farewel thou Indian smoak, Barbarian Vapour, Thou enemy to life, foe to waste paper.
1726 C. Ellison Most Pleasant Descr. Benwel Village 489 Each Hogan-Mogan comes, With Indian Smoke, And Languid Joke.
Indian style adv. colloquial cross-legged (with reference to a seated person).
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1901 Coll. Minesota Hist. Soc. 9 418 They paid no attention to me, but seated themselves, Indian style, on the ground in a circle in front of me, and beat time by striking on the ground with their sticks.
2005 New Yorker 13 June 76/2 She sat Indian style in the center of the shell.
Indian sugar n. maple sugar.
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1771 G. Taylor Voy. to N. Amer. 81 The man, after giving this account of the Indian sugar, invited us to his house.
1834 C. F. Hoffman Let. 1 Jan. in Winter in West (1835) I. 228 Indian sugar, as that made from the maple-tree is called at the West.
1927 T. Michelson Contrib. Fox Ethnol. 21 Corn, it is said, was cooked for him, and beaver tails, Indian potatoes, and crab apples, and Indian berries, and Indian sugar.
2001 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) (Nexis) 15 Apr. aa1 Inside, a host of mostly maple-related indulgences awaits:..Indian sugar (granulated maple syrup), maple sugar rounds and maple cream.
Indian sunburn n. North American (Children's slang) = Chinese burn n. at Chinese adj. and n. Additions; cf. Indian burn n.
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1988 A. Frucht Snap v. 58 Ida pulls her arm free and cradles her grateful hand in her lap, remembering. What's that game she played as a child? Indian Sunburn.
1992 Ploughshares 18 124 She thought I was going to give her an Indian sunburn, which was something I'd done to her when she was little.
2001 K. den Hartog Water Wings 35 Hands around Vivian's wrist like an Indian sunburn.
2014 S. Fishman Well's End 109 When she bends it, it feels like someone's giving me an Indian sunburn on an actual sunburn.
Indian title n. (a) a title to land acquired from the original North American Indian occupants; (b) a legal right or claim to land deriving from ancestral occupation or use by North American Indians.
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1660 in D. G. Hill Dedham (Mass.) Rec. (1894) IV. 26 Lieft Fisher & Sergent Ellice are deputed to treat..with the Indians..and cleere the place from all Indians title.]
1683 in S. A. Green Early Rec. Groton, Mass. (1880) 83 Consarning our purchis of our indin titll.
1797 Pittsburgh Gaz. 23 Sept. 2/4 The principal object to be obtained, is a relinquishment of the Indian title of the lands in Massachusetts pre~emption.
1849 President's Message to Congr. II. 943 The Indian title has been extinguished to but a comparatively small portion of the country within the limits of the territory.
1986 R. B. Morrison & C. R. Wilson Native Peoples ix. 196 The Cree lawyers then argued that their clients had been exercising rights to the land since time immemorial, including the rights to hunt, fish, and trap, which constituted an Indian title over the land.
2007 Winnipeg Sun (Nexis) 8 Dec. 4 Even though there's a Manitoba Act that says we had Indian titles and traded them for land, the judge says no.
Indian trade n. now historical trade with North American Indians; (also) articles so traded.
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1644 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1850) I. 113 The propositions of the Commissioners concerneing a generall Indean trade (except corne, fishe and venison).
1692 in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1918) 13 208 They found him in his store,..having great store in Indian trade therein.
1853 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life 2 Feb. (1874) ix. 104 His prospects are flattering, as the command is large, and the Indian trade increasing.
2001 L. Ulrich Age of Homespun ix. 323 The famous ‘point blankets’ used in the Indian trade had several short stripes in the corners to mark length and value.
Indian trader n. (a) a person engaged in trade with North American Indians (now historical); †(b) a type of firearm; see quot. 1835 (obsolete rare).
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1688 A. Behn Oroonoko 171 'Tis by these Fisherman, call'd Indian Traders, we hold a Commerce with 'em; for they love not to go far from home, and we never go to them).
1835 A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes 282 Indian-traders (a long, cheap, but sometimes excellent kind of gun that Mother Britain used to send hither).
2003 W. B. Secrest When Great Spirit Died 164 Beef..to be provided to the Indians through the Indian traders.
Indian trail n. = Indian path n.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > track, trail, or path > [noun] > through forest, wood, or fields
wayOE
chare12..
Indian path1634
rackway1685
drive1797
Indian trail1813
wood-road1821
1813 Centinel (Gettysburg, Pa.) 21 Apr. In my last I mentioned that an Indian trail had been discovered.
1969 D. F. Costello Prairie World iii. 54 A walk through DeVoto Woods reminded me of the giant red cedars that once were so numerous along the lower Indian trails.
2004 Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) (Nexis) 29 Jan. 11 Environmental characteristics such as level terrain and its proximity to bodies of water, proximity to an indian trail.., and a known archeological site.
Indian yell n. an extremely loud, protracted, pulsating cry traditionally used as a war cry or other signal by some North American Indians.
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1764 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 i. 78 The Indians within the fort began their tremendous yell, and the Indians without..seconded them. No sound that was ever made can be more horrid than the Indian yell.
1786 ‘P. Pindar’ Farewel Odes 20 ‘Not think they'd shave!’ quoth Hodge, with wond'ring eyes, And voice not much unlike an Indian yell.
1815 Maryland Gaz. 17 Aug. When within 7 rods of the breast work, he [sc. General Aldrich] ordered his men to fire, then uttering an Indian yell, led them over it.
1992 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 1 Dec. 1 c/1 To encourage your team, you do an Indian yell and raise your arm up and down.
(b) Chiefly North American. In the names of plants and animals.† Indian ivy n. Obsolete rare the Swiss cheese plant, Monstera deliciosa.† Indian mastic n. Obsolete the Peruvian mastic or pepper tree, Schinus molle.† Indian pipestem n. Obsolete rare = Indian pipe n.† Indian pipeshank n. Obsolete rare bridewort, Spiraea salicifolia (family Rosaceae), a pink-flowered shrub native to Eurasia and introduced to North America.† Indian purge n. Obsolete rare feverwort, Triosteum perfoliatum (family Caprifoliaceae), a North American woodland perennial with yellow berries and a root which was formerly used medicinally as a purgative.† Indian wood n. Obsolete a dye produced from the deep red heartwood of any of several tropical American trees, esp. logwood, Haematoxylum campechianum; (also) the tree that produces this dye itself.
Indian apple n. the mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Ranunculaceae (crowfoot and allies) > [noun] > podophyllum or May-apple
mayapple1731
duck's foot1755
Indian apple1833
hog apple1837
lime-plant1844
Podophyllum1844
mandrake1845–50
wild lemon1882
1833 W. Beach Amer. Pract. Med. III. vii. 143 Mandrake..Vulgar Names—May Apple, Indian Apple,..&c.
1892 C. F. Millspaugh Medicinal Plants 17-1 Podophyllum... Com[mon] Names.—May-apple, Indian-apple,..Wild Jalap, Peca, Raccoon-berry, Mandrake.
1931 W. N. Clute Common Names Plants 35 The May-apple (Podophyllum peltatum) was known to settlers as Indian apple, but it is really a berry.
Indian arrow n. (more fully Indian arrow-wood) the wahoo or burning bush, Euonymus atropurpureus.
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1815 D. Drake Nat. & Statist. View Cincinnati 77 [Plants growing in Miami country include] Euonymus carolinensis—Indian arrow-wood.
1841 Proc. Med. Convent. Ohio 71 Euonymus Atropurpureus. Indian arrow. Actively medicinal according to popular opinion.
1902 Jrnl. Amer. Folk-lore 15 108 Indian arrow. Name applied in Salem (Ind.) to the Euonymus atropurpureus or wahoo.
2005 Ireland's Own 21 Jan. 43/2 The Euonymus Atropurpureus variety is common. It is also known as Wahoo, the ‘Burning Bush’ or the Indian Arrowwood.
Indian balm n. a trillium (genus Trillium); esp. purple trillium or birthroot, T. erectum.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Liliaceae family or plants > [noun] > Trillium
herb true-love1640
birthroot1707
three-leaved nightshade1760
Trillium1760
true love1760
Indian balm1830
nosebleed1869
wake-robin1871
white bath1891
1830 C. S. Rafinesque Med. Flora U.S. II. 98 Trillium latifolium. Names... Vulgar: Bethroot,..Indian Balm.
1908 A. R. Harding Ginseng & Other Medicinal Plants (rev. ed.) xxvii. 277 Other common names: Trillium, red trillium.., Indian balm.
1970 N. Carolina Folklore 18 6 Trillium (birthroot, sometimes called wood lily and recognized as ‘Indian balm’,) was used to assuage the pangs of childbirth.
Indian bean n. (more fully Indian bean tree) a small tree, Catalpa bignonioides (family Bignoniaceae), native to the south-eastern United States, with large heart-shaped leaves, large white flowers, and long seed pods.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > [noun] > catalpa
catalpa1731
French oak1789
roble1814
Shawnee wood1818
Indian bean1843
talpa1926
1843 J. Torrey Flora State N.Y. II. 25 Catalpa. Indian Bean... About habitations... The Catalpa is more esteemed for ornament than for use.
1933 J. K. Small Man. Southeastern Flora 1241 Catalpa... Indian-beans. Indian-cigars. Cigar-trees.
1992 G. Swift in M. Bradbury & J. Cooke New Writing 20 And so I sit in these College gardens, under the shade of an Indian bean tree.., trying to recover my substance.
Indian chickweed n. the carpetweed, Mollugo verticillata (family Molluginaceae), a prostrate annual plant native to tropical America but extensively naturalized elsewhere as an invasive weed.
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1837 W. Darlington Flora Cestrica (ed. 2) 96 Verticillate Mollugo. Vulgò—Carpet weed. Indian Chickweed.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. Chickweed, Indian, an American name for Mollugo.
1980 Southwestern Naturalist 25 329 Indian chickweed.—Prostrate annual, abundant in stable dune slacks, infrequently elsewhere on stable dunes.
Indian chocolate n. water avens, Geum rivale, which has reddish-brown roots; (also) a decoction made from these roots; cf. chocolate root n. at chocolate n. and adj. Compounds 5.
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1828 C. S. Rafinesque Med. Plants U.S. I. 222 All the Avens have nearly the same properties... They are the base of the Indian Chocolate of the Empirics.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. Chocolate, Indian, Geum rivale.
1976 Hortus Third (L. H. Bailey Hortorium) 509 [Geum] rivale L. Indian chocolate, purple avens, water a., chocolate root.
Indian cress n. British the ‘nasturtium’ (genus Tropaeolum), which has peppery leaves; formerly in plural.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > cruciferous flowers > yellow or orange flowers > nasturtium
nasturtian1526
Indian cress1597
lark-heel1597
capucine1693
nasturces1693
nasturtium1706
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 195 Indian Cresses.
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole v. 281 Nasturtium Indicum, by which name it is now generally..called, and we thereafter in English, Indian Cresses.
a1706 J. Evelyn Direct. for Gardiner (1932) 89 Flowers..Indian Cresses or Nasturtium.
1851 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. (ed. 2) §822 The unripe fruit of Tropæolum majus, common Indian cress, has been pickled and used as capers.
1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 7 Aug. (1995) 183 It seems to be a natural anglicization that started soon after the ‘Indian Cress’ was naturalized (from Peru, I think) in the 18th century; but it remains a minority usage.
1995 Garden (Royal Hort. Soc.) Nov. 683/1 The common nasturtium or Indian cress has been a popular garden annual since Victorian times.
Indian cup n. a North American pitcher plant (genus Sarracenia); also in plural.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > insectivorous plants > [noun] > pitcher-plants
distillatory plant1707
side-saddle flower1718
nepenthes1754
Sarracenia1786
monkey-cup1810
pitcher plant1810
Indian cup1823
nepenth1846
water pitcher1847
huntsman's cup1848
side-saddle plant1861
trumpet-leaf1861
trumpet1884
1823 T. C. Haliburton Gen. Descr. Nova Scotia iii. 37 Indian Cups, Sarracenia purpurea.
1837 P. H. Gosse in E. W. Gosse Life (1890) 108 That curious plant, the Indian cup or pitcher plant (Sarracenia).
1874 R. Brown Man. Bot. ii. iii. 177 In Sarracenia (‘Trumpet-flower’, ‘Indian cups’, or ‘Side-saddle flower’,) and Darlingtonia.., all the leaves are infundibuliform open pitchers.
1951 Dict. Gardening (Royal Hort. Soc.) IV. 1871/2 Many names have been given these curious plants: e.g. Indian Cup, Pitcher Plant, Side-saddle Flower, Trumpet Leaf.
Indian currant n. the coralberry, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > berry-bush or -tree > [noun] > tropical American or West Indian > others
cloven-berry1725
sky flower1761
Indian currant1785
turkey-berry1858
marlberry1884
marbleberry1946
1785 H. Marshall Arbustrum Americanum 82 Lonicera Symphoricarpos. Indian Currants, or St. Peter's Wort. This hath a shrubby stalk, which rises from four to five feet high.
1806 W. Clark Jrnl. 9 Aug. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1993) VIII. 2867 Deep purple berry of the large Cherry of the Current Speces [sic] which is common... The engagees Call it the Indian Current.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 363 Indian C[urrent], an American name for Symphoricarpus vulgaris.
1996 Chiltern Seeds Catal. 227 Indian Currant, Coral Berry. An accommodating, easily grown, densely leafy shrub with small pink flowers, followed by an abundance of persistent coral-red berries.
Indian devil n. either of two predatory North American mammals: (a) the wolverine, Gulo gulo; (b) the puma, Felis concolor.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Mustelidae (weasel, marten, otter, or badger) > [noun] > genus Gulo (wolverine)
wolverine1574
gulo1607
glutton1674
quickhatch1683
carcajou1703
kinkajou1760
beaver-eater1771
Indian devil1838
skunk bear1876
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Felidae (feline) > [noun] > genus Felis > felis concolor (puma)
tiger1604
mountain lion?1615
panther1683
painter1738
red tiger1763
puma1771
American mountain lion1774
cougar1774
poltroon tiger1790
catamount1794
Indian devil1838
black panther1857
1838 Notitia New-Brunswick ii. 25 The Carcajou Carcasu, or Indian Devil, was formerly ranked among the animals of this Province, but has disappeared of late years.
1851 J. S. Springer Forest Life & Forest Trees 66 A dangerous specimen of the feline species, known by woodsmen as the ‘Indian devil’, had prowled from time immemorial.
1977 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 9 Apr. 8/3 The story of the eastern panther—which has also been called the Indian devil—is a New Brunswick version of the west coast Sasquatch mystery.
Indian ginger n. the wild ginger of North America, Asarum canadense (family Aristolochiaceae), with aromatic rhizomes that were formerly used for seasoning.
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1818 W. P. C. Barton Veg. Materia Medica U.S. II. 85 Asarum Canadense. Wild Ginger. Indian Ginger. Colts-foot. Canada Snake-root. American Asarabacca.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 531/2 Indian Ginger, Asarum canadense. Mango Ginger, Curcuma Amada... Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense.
1908 A. R. Harding Ginseng & Other Medicinal Plants (rev. ed.) xxii. 260 Other Common Names—Asarum, wild ginger, Indian ginger.., colicroot.
1974 N. Coon Dict. Useful Plants (1977) 70 Indian ginger... The dried root has often been used as a substitute for ‘tropical’ ginger, as use in Colonial times that likely came from the Indians.
Indian hen n. †(a) a female turkey (obsolete); (b) any of various American birds of the heron family; esp. the American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus; (c) any of various other American birds; esp. the pileated woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus.
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1676 London Gaz. No. 1076/2 Their Claws were like those of Indian Hens, Nibs crooked like Parrots.
a1782 T. Jefferson Notes State of Virginia (1788) 74 Ardea stellaris Americana..[is known as] Brown bittern..[and] Indian hen.
1835 J. J. Audubon Ornithol. Biogr. III. 275 The inhabitants of East Florida know it [sc. the night heron] under the name of ‘Indian Hen’.
1852 C. N. Bement Amer. Poulterer's Compan. (ed. 5) ix. 210 They [sc. turkeys] were also called the Indian Cock and Hen, as they were first taken from the West Indies to Europe.
1897 Oölogist 14 81 The peculiar habits and movements of the Indian Hen or Greater Bittern have offered special attractions for me.
1917 Wilson Bull. 29 ii. 81 Phloetomus pileatus... Indian hen, Marksville and Hamburg.
1953 Amer. Speech 28 280 The Indian hens known at present comprise the little blue heron.., green heron.., black-crowned night heron.., yellow-crowned night heron.., American bittern.., purple and common gallinules.., American coot.., yellow-billed cuckoo.., pileated woodpecker.., ivory-billed woodpecker.., and brown thrasher.
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1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 247/2 Scindapsus pertusus (Monstera deliciosa). Indian Ivy.
Indian lettuce n. any of several American plants, esp.: (a) Carolina gentian, Frasera caroliniensis; (b) round-leaved wintergreen, Pyrola rotundifolia; (c) winter purslane or miner's lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > Asian or Indian
moving plant1787
elephant's foot1789
Indian lettuce1791
Sonerila1846
telegraph plant1856
whirling plant1866
mitsuba1890
1791 W. Bartram Trav. N. & S. Carolina 42 A very singular and elegant plan, of an unknown family, called Indian Lettuce, made its first appearance in these rich vales.
1876 C. E. Hobbs Bot. Hand-bk. 57 Indian lettuce, Round leaved pyrola, Pyrola rotundifolia.
1897 M. E. Parsons Wild Flowers Calif. 16 Montia perfoliata... The succulent leaves and stems are greedily eaten by the Indians, from which it is called ‘Indian lettuce’.
1931 Ann. Missouri Bot. Garden 18 256 In the early part of the nineteenth century Frasera was variously known as ‘American Colombo’, ‘Colombo-root’, ‘Columbia’, ‘Indian Lettuce’, ‘Yellow Gentian’.., etc.
1931 W. N. Clute Common Names Plants 37 We cannot imagine a real use by the aborigines of..Indian lettuce (Pyrola Americana).
1939 O. P. Medsger Edible Wild Plants 145 The Indian Lettuce..is an odd and dainty plant which grows larger and coarser in cultivation.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular tree or plant yielding useful gum or resin > [noun] > of South America or West Indies > Peruvian mastic tree
pepper tree1563
molle1581
Indian mastic1640
pepper1889
peppercorn shrub1901
peppercorn1954
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 1524 Lentiscus Pervana. The Indian Masticke tree.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. App. (at cited word) Indian Mastic, the name by which the Molle, or Peruvian Lentisk is sometimes called.
1829 London Encycl. XIX. 368/2 Schinus, in botany, Indian mastic, a genus of the decandria order.
Indian paint n. any of several North American plants, whose roots yield coloured dyes; esp. (more fully yellow Indian paint) goldenseal, Hydrastis canadensis, and (more fully red Indian paint) bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis; cf. puccoon n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > blood-root plant or root
bleeding root1714
bloodroot1724
Indian paint1803
sanguinaria1808
1803 A. F. M. Willich & J. Mease Domest. Encycl. (Amer. ed.) IV. 442/1 Sanguinaria Canadensis, called commonly Puccoon, blood-wort, red-root, Indian paint, turmeric.
1828 C. S. Rafinesque Med. Flora U.S. I. 251 Hydrastis canadensis... Yellow-paint,..Indian paint.
1892 Homestead (Des Moines, Iowa) 8 July 10/1 Mingling with the white blossoms of the wild onion..is the orange-flowered puccoon or Indian paint—Lithospermum canescens.
1907 F. W. Hodge Handbk. Amer. Indians I. 606 Indian paint... (2) The hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canescens)... (4) Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), called red Indian paint. (5) The yellow puccoon (Hydrastis canadensis), called yellow Indian paint.
1931 W. N. Clute Common Names Plants 26 The bloodroot..is also called puccoon-root, Indian paint.
1971 A. Krochmal Guide Medicinal Plants Appalachia 144 Hydrastis canadensis... Common Names: Goldenseal,..Indian paint,..yellow paintroot.
Indian paintbrush n. any herbaceous plant of the genus Castilleja (family Orobanchaceae), having reddish flower spikes; cf. paintbrush n. 2.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > North American > Indian paint-brush
painter's brush1869
Indian paintbrush1892
paintbrush1915
1892 Jrnl. Amer. Folk-lore 5 101 Castilleia coccinea..Indian paint-brush.
1923 ‘B. M. Bower’ Parowan Bonanza ii. 21 He plucked a bright red ‘Indian paint brush’ from beside a rock.
1959 Calgary (Alberta) Herald 31 July 10/1 There is no finer feature of the autumn landscape in Alberta..than the roadside aster,..Indian paint brush and wild geranium.
1996 S. King Desperation iii. ii. 416 She slipped her head around the corner, wincing at a blast of wind that ruffled her fur and charged her nose with smells of brome grass and Indian paintbrush and old booze and older brick.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 Feb. d6/2 In summer, bare spots on the hills are covered in yellow mule ears, lupine and Indian paintbrush.
Indian peach n. any of several varieties of peach tree naturalized in North America, formerly thought to be indigenous; esp. one bearing fruit having deep red flesh; (also) the fruit of such a tree.
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1709 J. Lawson New Voy. Carolina 110 Of this sort we make Vinegar; wherefore we call them Vinegar-Peaches, and sometimes Indian Peaches.
1832 W. R. Prince Pomological Man. (ed. 2) i. 33 There is a Blood clingstone, cultivated in the Southern States, called there Georgia or Indian Peach.
1884 Cent. Mag. Jan. 442/1 One large and hardy peach-tree was so early and so widely distributed..that it was called the Indian peach, and was thought to be indigenous.
1933 W. W. Robbins & F. Ramaley Plants useful to Man 245 The plant spread throughout the southern part of the United States where naturalized forms have long gone by the name of ‘Indian peach’.
1993 B. Kingsolver Pigs in Heaven 220 These here are Indian peaches, they call them. Blood red in the center.
2002 Business Week 9 Dec. 128 His nectarines and cherries are wonderful, but his pièce de résistance may be the Indian blood peaches picked in mid-September.
Indian pear n. a serviceberry (genus Amelanchier), esp. A. canadensis; (also) the edible fruit of this, a fleshy red or purple berry.
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > fruit or a fruit > berry > [noun] > other berries
hedge-berry1607
elderberry1625
ramble-berry1658
cloudberry1743
Indian pear1796
bluet1812
squawberry1829
pigface1830
wax-berry1835
quandong1836
strawberry guava1901
bead-berry1923
squash-berry1935
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tree or plant producing edible berries > service-berry or shadbush
service1785
saskatoon1802
service-berry1805
Juneberry1810
shad-blossoma1817
shad-flower1817
shad-bush1818
grape-pear1840
service tree1844
shad-blow1846
saskatoon berry1887
veitchberry1913
Indian pear1956
1796 Descr. Prince Edward Island 5 A fruit in this Island, called the Indian Pear, is very delicious.
1873 G. M. Grant Ocean to Ocean 156 The sasketoon are simply what are known in Nova Scotia as ‘Indian pears’.
1956 T. H. Raddall Wings of Night 12 Then came the long reach of scrub woods, wire birch and poplar mostly, with blossoming clumps of Indian pear, like patches of snow on the slopes.
Indian physic n. bowman's root, Gillenia trifoliata (family Rosaceae), a North American woodland perennial with white starlike flowers, trifoliate leaves, and a root that was formerly used medicinally.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > Indian physic plant or root
Indian physic1734
Indian root1775
gillenia1820
1734 J. Tennent Every Man his own Doctor (ed. 2) 9 On the third Day, he may vomit with 80 Grains of Indian Physick, (Ipecacuania).
1788 M. Cutler Let. 12 Nov. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 285 I collected..a plant called Indian Physic, or Indian Root; it blossoms, I believe, early in the year.
1869 in F. P. Porcher Resources of Southern Fields & Forests (new ed.) (advt.) Gillenia Trifoliata (Indian Physic)... It is especially useful..as a nauseate in asthma, whooping-cough, and the hemorrhages.
1996 Chiltern Seeds Catal. 280 Indian-physic, Bowman's Root. Of easy culture is this handsome perennial from wood in North America with clusters of dainty white flowers.
Indian pipe n. the plant Monotropa uniflora (family Ericaceae), of temperate woodlands, having a solitary drooping flower but lacking both leaves and pigment, parasitic on mycorrhizal fungi.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > parasitic plants > [noun] > monotropa genus (Indian pipe)
Monotropa1753
wax-plant1801
Indian pipe1822
pinesap1824
tobacco-pipe1845
ghost plant1856
fir-rape1861
Indian pipestem1869
1822 A. Eaton Man. Bot. (ed. 3) ii. 357 Monotropa..uniflora..birds-nest, indian-pipe.
1884 ‘C. E. Craddock’ In Tennessee Mts. i. 60 The ashy Indian pipes silvered the roots of the trees.
1937 Amer. Midland Naturalist 18 953 Conspicuous flowering plants are:..Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora); Pipsisewa (Chimaphila umbellata, var. occidentalis); [etc.].
1998 L. Margulis & K. V. Schwartz Five Kingdoms (ed. 3) v. 372 A few genera such as dodder (Cuscuta) and Indian pipe (Monotropa) lost green pigment in the course of evolution and became parasitic.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > poisonous or harmful plants > parasitic plants > [noun] > monotropa genus (Indian pipe)
Monotropa1753
wax-plant1801
Indian pipe1822
pinesap1824
tobacco-pipe1845
ghost plant1856
fir-rape1861
Indian pipestem1869
1869 Amer. Naturalist 3 6 The Indian Pipestem (Monotropa uniflora) will be found rarely in low woods.
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1853 W. Darlington Flora Cestrica (ed. 3) 174 Spiraea salicifolia... Willow-leaved Spiraea. Indian Pipeshank. Meadow-Sweet.
Indian plantain n. †(a) the American wormseed, Chenopodium ambrosioides (obsolete rare); (b) any of various North American plants of the former genus Cacalia (family Asteraceae ( Compositae)), now placed chiefly in the genus Arnoglossum.
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1728 R. Bradley Dict. Bot. II Payco herba, in English, Indian Plantain for the Stone. It grows in Peru, in the Spanish West-Indies.
1837 W. Darlington Flora Cestrica (ed. 2) 499 Atriplex-leaved Cacalia. Vulgò—Indian Plantain.
1988 Nature Conservancy May 27/2 Among these rare fen-loving plants are edible valerian.., prairie dropseed.., and prairie Indian plantain.
1997 R.-M. Rejouis & V. Vinokurov tr. P. Chamoiseau Texaco (1998) 134 My emergency straw came from the foxtail, the vetiver, the Indian plantain.
Indian poke n. the false hellebore Veratrum viride, a North American woodland perennial having large pleated leaves and pale green flowers, which is highly toxic if ingested.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Liliaceae family or plants > [noun] > white or swamp hellebore
lingwort1538
veratrum1577
sneezewort1629
poke root1687
tickle-weed1762
Indian poke1785
poke1785
hellebore1792
1785 M. Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1 492 Veratrum... White Helebore. Poke-root. Indian Poke. Common in wet meadows and swamps.
1814 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. & Surg. 3 335 Veratrum album, known also by the various names of white hellebore, swamp hellebore, poke, and Indian poke, is often found occupying the same swampy ground with skunk cabbage.
1907 Fitchburg (Mass.) Daily Sentinel 15 Aug. 4/5 The root of Indian poke has been fatal to human beings.
1931 E. O. Essig Hist. Entomol. vii. 449 The American white hellebore or Indian poke, V[eratrum] viride.
2005 L. Hodgson Making Most of Shade vi. 213/2 Indian poke..is a common denizen of Borth American forests where its large, very pleated, light green leaves rising from the ground are a sure sign of spring!
Indian pony n. a type of pony, known for its strength and endurance, descended from horses originally brought to America by Spanish colonists; cf. mustang n. 1a, cayuse n.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by breed > [noun] > Indian pony
Indian pony1758
cayuse1841
1758 P. Stevens Jrnl. 13 July in N. D. Mereness Trav. Amer. Colonies (1916) 314 He is given us for an Indian pony in his place.
1861 J. H. Walsh & I. J. Lupton Horse iv. 28 The Indian Pony, which seldom or never exceeds thirteen hands in height, is remarkable for activity and strength, as compared with its size.
1908 J. H. S. Johnstone Horse Bk. ii. 234 The cayuse or Indian pony may fairly be accepted as the aboriginal type of horse of the American plains.
1995 B. L. Hendricks Internat. Encycl. Horse Breeds 16 This little horse has been known by a multitude of names: cow pony or buffalo horse, mustang or Indian pony, cayuse or Spanish pony.
Indian potato n. any of various North American plants producing edible tubers, bulbs, etc., or the tuber, bulb, etc., of any of these plants; esp. †(a) the yam (genus Dioscorea) (obsolete); (b) the American groundnut, Apios tuberosa (also called potato bean); (c) any of several plants of the genus Ipomoea, which includes the sweet potato, I. batatas.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > root vegetables > yam > yam plant
Indian potato1752
yam-vine1792
yellow yam1836
1752 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. (ed. 6) at Dioscorea The Yam, or Indian Potato.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 323 Potatoe, Indian, Dioscorea.
?a1775 W. Bartram Trav. Georgia & Florida in Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. (1943) 33 170/1 Apios americana. The Indians gather the Roots of this Plant which they roast or boil... The Traders call them Indian Patates.
1812 Jrnl. Nat. Philos. Apr. 297 These people ate..another species of the same genus, the convolvulus panduratus, which is still known in some parts of the United States, but the name of ‘Indian potato’.
1870 I. Raymond Southland Writers 891 Healing plants of great medicinal virtue, and nutritious fruits, such as the Indian potato and palmetto cabbage.
1920 C. F. Saunders Useful Wild Plants of U.S. & Canada 17 They [sc. edible bulbs] have been drawn upon for food by white travelers and settlers—the most palatable species being of the genera Calochortus, Brodiaea and Camassia, and commonly called ‘Indian potatoes’.
1999 Alton (Illinois) Tel. 10 Apr. b 4/1 Sweet potato, yam,..Indian potato—whatever name it goes by, it tastes great and is a favourite vegetable of autumn.
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1687 J. Clayton Let. in Philos. Trans. 1739–40 (Royal Soc.) (1742) 41 150 There is another Herb, which [in Virginia] they call the Indian Purge... It bears yellow Berries round about the Joints: They only make use of the Root of this Plant.
Indian rice n. (a) any of several kinds of North American wild rice (genus Zizania); esp. Z. aquatica, which grows in shallow water and was formerly an important food source (also called water oats); (b) a North American bunch grass, Oryzopsis hymenoides (rare).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > rice > types of rice or rice-plants
fundi1670
ricea1710
wild rice1748
zizania1756
zizany1759
water oats1771
Canada rice1786
Carolina rice1787
menomin1791
Patna rice1795
Indian rice1809
pulut1820
dhan1832
hungry rice1858
swamp rice1861
Menominee1949
miracle rice1968
1809 in Hudson's Bay Misc. (1975) 113 We had nothing but the part of the few fish that we caught ourselves and a little Indian rice.
1861 Edinb. New Philos. Jrnl. 14 229 On the borders of the lakes and rivers, the Indian rice (Zizania aquatica) is abundant, the grain of which, along with fish, forms the principal food of the Salteau Indians.
1923 L. Carrier Beginnings Agric. in Amer. iv. 27 Indian rice (Zizania sp.).
1933 E. C. Jaeger Calif. Deserts xiii. 165 Indian rice (Oryzopsis hymenoides) is frequent in porous soils, particularly on blown sand.
1998 D. Larkin & S. E. Larkin Country Wild 115/2 Also called ‘Indian rice’, wild rice is really an aquatic grass that grows from five to ten feet tall in pure water along the margins of streams.
Indian root n. †(a) = Indian physic n. (obsolete rare); (b) the American spikenard, Aralia racemosa.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > Indian physic plant or root
Indian physic1734
Indian root1775
gillenia1820
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > root > specific roots
zedoaryOE
madderOE
setwall?c1225
liquoricec1275
rhubarba1400
ireosc1400
liquorice-racec1400
sage root14..
maple root1523
liquorice-root1530
rhabarbarum1533
orris1545
turmeric1545
cypressc1550
pyrethrum1562
china1582
China root1588
orris root1598
red squill1629
ginseng1654
ague root1676
poke root1687
cassumunar1693
nettle root1707
valerian root1747
belly-ache-root1775
Indian root1775
Turkey rhubarb1789
sumbul1791
serpentaria1803
Honduras sarsaparilla1818
serpentary1837
sang1843
savanilla1856
manaca1866
gelsemium1875
sanguinaria1875
Indian turmeric1890
1775 A. Adams in J. Adams & A. Adams Familiar Lett. (1876) 96 I should be glad of one ounce of Indian root.
1876 C. E. Hobbs Bot. Hand-bk. 57 Indian root, Spikenard, American, Aralia racemosa.
1902 Jrnl. Amer. Folk-lore 15 110 Indian root. A New Hampshire name for the Aralia racemosa, or spikenard, of the ginseng family (Bergen).
1968 Foxfire 2 49 Aralia racemosa, called..indian-root,..is a ‘cure-all’.
Indian shot n. a plant of the genus Canna (family Cannaceae); spec. C. indica of tropical America and the Caribbean, with large broad leaves, spikes of red to white flowers, and round hard black seeds that are used in jewellery, rattles, etc. (also called Indian reed).A number of varieties of C. indica are grown as ornamentals, many of them formerly regarded as separate species.
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1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. (Additions to vol. I) 380 Merian. p. 18. Indian Shot.
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xi. 123 The seeds..are round and very hard; whence this plant has the name of Indian Shot.
1865 P. H. Gosse Land & Sea 322 The noble, reed-like leaves of the Indian-shot throw up their scarlet spikes.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) ii. xv. 441 Tous-Les-Mois. Canna edulis... The seeds are round, hard and black, and it is said that they have been used by the natives of India as shot, and hence the name ‘Indian shot’, applied to Canna indica and cannas generally.
1998 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 16 July f4/3 You betray your age..if you know cannas as ‘Indian shot’, a reference to the density of the spherical seeds produced in distinctive, maroon-colored spiny seed capsules.
Indian strawberry n. the mock strawberry, Duchesnea indica.The name of the plant almost certainly relates to its having been found wild in North America, rather than its Asian origins.
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?1805–6 H. C. Andrews Botanist’s Repository VII. Pl. CCCCLXXIX Fragaria Indica. Indian Strawberry.
1874 R. Brown Man. Bot. iii. i. 290 Fig. 151, showing an entire flower of an Indian strawberry (Fragaria Indica, Andr.), gives an example of the first case.
1926 K. M. Wiegand et al. Flora of Cayuga Lake Basin 257 Indian strawberry... Waste places and lawns, mostly in shade; rare. May-June.
2008 Winston-Salem (N. Carolina) Jrnl. (Nexis) 5 Jan. 1 Another weed enjoying the distinction of being noticed only because it is blooming in January is a little, yellow flowered creeper called Indian strawberry.
Indian sun n. now historical and rare the sunflower (genus Helianthus).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > sunflower
golden flower of Peru1578
Indian sun1578
girasola1586
flower of the sun1597
marigold of Peru1597
marigold sunflower1597
sunflower1597
turnsole1725
sun-seeker1847
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. xxxiv. 191 The Indian Sunne, or the golden floure of Perrowe is a plante, of such stature and talnesse, that..it groweth to the length of thirtene or fouretenne foote.
1937 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 19 June 3/2 The early explorers of America called the sunflower the Peru flower, and the Indian sun.
Indian tobacco n. any of several North American plants used in a similar way to tobacco; esp. Lobelia inflata (family Campanulaceae), an erect, usually branched herb bearing racemes of bluish-violet or white flowers, containing the alkaloid lobeline, which has a similar effect to nicotine (also called pukeweed).
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > medicinal and culinary plants > medicinal and culinary plant or part of plant > [noun] > Indian tobacco
Indian tobaccoa1618
pukeweed1830
lobelia1849
a1618 J. Sylvester Tobacco Battered in tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) 1129 (That which now no Ingle wants) Indian Tobacco.
1792 J. Belknap Hist. New-Hampsh. III. 126 A running vine, bearing a small berry, and a round leaf, which..the fishermen called poke; it is known to the hunters by the name of Indian tobacco.
1814 J. Bigelow Florula Bostoniensis 55 Lobelia inflata... Indian tobacco.
1830 J. F. Watson Ann. Philadelphia 470 They [sc. the earliest Swedish settlers] called the mullein plant the Indian tobacco; they tied it round their arms and feet, as a cure when they had the ague.
1851 J. H. Balfour Man. Bot. (ed. 2) §924 Lobelia inflata, Indian Tobacco..is used medicinally as a sedative, expectorant, and anti~spasmodic.
1926 Amer. Mercury July 329/1 When he was four years old he discovered that lobelia, or Indian tobacco (Lobelia inflata ),..if chewed, induced vomiting.
1949 Amer. Speech 24 110/1 Indian tobacco, Rabbit tobacco (a species of weed often rolled into home- made cigarettes, especially by boys trying to learn to smoke).
2001 Nat. Health Sept. 100/2 Or consider the herb Lobelia (Lobelia inflata), known as Indian tobacco, recommends Olarsch.
Indian turnip n. (a) the tuberous root of Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum (family Araceae); (also) the plant itself; (b) the edible tuberous root of the North American leguminous plant, Pediomelum esculentum (also called breadroot).
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the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > root vegetable > [noun] > turnip > types of
navew1527
navet1530
round rape1559
nape1562
round turnip1599
French turnip1731–3
Indian turnip1735
orange jelly1769
rutabaga1789
Swedish turnipc1791
Swede1812
teltow turnip1866
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > root vegetables > turnip > types of
rapea1398
round rape1559
nape1562
round turnip1599
yellow turnip1707
Indian turnip1735
tankard-turnip1744
orange jelly1769
white loaf1775
rutabaga1789
Swedish turnipc1791
Swedish turnipc1791
red-top1805
white top1807
Swede1812
yellow-top1838
ox-heart1846
1735 P. Collinson Let. 19 June in J. Bartram Corr. (1992) 11 Grows well. So doth..the Dragon & Indian Turnip.
1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. Northern U.S. (1860) 94 Psoralea esculenta,..the Indian Turnip,..used as food by the aborigines.
1873 J. Miller Life amongst Modocs x. 128 He [sc. winter] cut down the banners of the spring that night, lamb-tongue, Indian turnip and catella.
1973 R. C. Lommasson Nebraska Wild Flowers 48 One common name for this plant [sc. Psoralea esculenta] is Indian turnip because of the starch filled, ball-shaped storage organ which was used as food by Indians.
1998 S. McLean Home from Vinyl Cafe ix. 141 The way you identify Indian turnip, said his reference, was by its white root.
Indian warrior n. a red-flowered lousewort, Pedicularis densifolia (family Orobanchaceae) of western North America.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Scrophulariaceae (figwort and allies) > [noun] > lousewort or red rattle
lousewort1578
rattle grass1578
red rattle1578
mimmulus1633
pipeweed1702
wood betony1886
Indian warrior1897
1897 M. E. Parsons Wild Flowers Calif. 336 Among the children of our mountain districts this flower is known as ‘Indian warrior’.
1937 Amer. Midland Naturalist 18 980 Pedicularis latifolia... Indian Warrior. Moist slopes, 5,000 to 6,500 feet, very common.
2006 Monterey County (Calif.) Herald (Nexis) 25 Apr. Try the Balconies Cliffs Trail for dozens of different species, including..Indian warrior (Pedicularis densiflora).
Indian wheat n. now historical maize, Zea mays; the grain of this plant; = Indian corn n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > maize > maize plants
maizea1544
Indian wheat1578
Guinea wheat1598
corn1608
sweet corn1646
Virginia wheat1651
soft corn1751
zea1760
popcorn1838
pod corn1884
pod maize1904
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. x. 464 They do now call this grayne..in English Turkish Corne, or Indian wheate.
1634 Relation Ld. Baltimore's Plantation (1865) 21 We haue planted since wee came, as much Maize (or Indian Wheate) as will suffice..much more company than we haue.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 173 We found some Maise, or Indian Wheat, which the Negroe Women planted.
1839 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 93 La Salle, recognising the spot where they then were as being one through which he had passed in his former journey, and near which he had hidden some beans and Indian wheat.
1927 G. F. Dow Slave Ships & Slaving i. 8 The maize or Indian wheat being produced in such quantity that much was sold to shipping and to blacks from other parts.
2006 Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota) (Nexis) 29 Oct. 14 f I haven't mentioned the maize, or ‘Indian wheat’, without which we could never have survived.
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1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies iv. xxix. 288 The wood of Guayac, which they call Lignum sanctum, or Indian wood..is as heavie as yron.
1666 J. Davies tr. C. de Rochefort Hist. Caribby-Islands vii. 41 Indian-wood is also a precious Tree, and of good scent: Of this there is such abundance in the Island of S. Croix, and several others, that there are in them whole Forests of it.
1705 tr. Whole Art of Dying lxiii. 191 'Tis impossible to give the last perfection to black Dyes, without Indian Wood, especially in Wools.
1813 ‘T. Martin’ Circle Mech. Arts 290/1 To render the colour darker and to vary its shade, a decoction of Indian wood..is introduced into the woad bath.
c.
(a) With participial adjectives, in senses A. 1a and A. 2, as Indian-built, Indian-controlled, Indian-made, Indian-raised, etc.
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1697 J. Child Great Honour & Advantage East-India Trade 29 The Indian-made Goods have not that troublesome effects.
1726 C. Brockwell Nat. & Polit. Hist. Portugal 375 The Houses are Indian built, neat, but very low.
1844 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 18 Mar. 38/1 The only assistant they took with them was an Indian-trained pack dog.
1867 H. R. Helper Nojoque 223 Indian-occupied territory of the United States.
1896 in Macmillan's Mag. Sept. (1906) 820 Purely Indian-raised troops.
1928 Times 21 Sept. 14/5 The reservation of Indian coastal shipping to Indian-controlled concerns.
1968 H. R. F. Keating Inspector Ghote hunts Peacock iv. 45 A pair of Indian-made chappals.
2000 Native Peoples: Arts & Lifeways No. 5. 16/4 Dream catchers..that were purported to be Indian-produced, when in fact they were made by Vietnamese workers at a Utah factory.
(b)
Indian-born adj.
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?1710 tr. P. Teixeira Trav. from India to Italy iv. 18 A Criollo, or Indian born Gentleman.
1723 R. Millar Hist. Propagation Christianity II. vii. 255 I have known none to do it, but such as are Indian born.
1841 J. F. Cooper Deerslayer I. vii. 121 If I was Indian born, now, I might tell of this, or carry in the scalp.
1993 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) 13 Feb. a10/2 A ‘fatwa’ or religious edict ordering the death of the Indian-born British writer.
C2. Compounds of the noun.
a. In sense B. 2a.
(a) Objective, as Indian-hater n., Indian-lover n., etc.; Indian-hating n. and adj., Indian-loving, n. and adj., etc.
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1829 J. Hall Western Souvenir 262 I was unable to learn from him what injury the Indian-hater had received.
1833 Western Monthly Mag. Sept. 403 (heading) Indian hating. The violent animosity which exists between the people of the frontier and the Indians, has long been a subject of remark.
1840 Case Seneca Indians in State of N.Y. (Joint Comm. Indian Affairs) 82 How cruel and hard-hearted they are, in refusing to gratify the humane and benevolent, and Indian-loving, and God-serving pre-emptioners!
1876 J. V. Campbell Outl. Polit. Hist. Michigan iv. 49 Contrary to the modern theories of our Indian hating statesmen, the civilized men depended for their supplies on the barbarians.
1970 D. Brown Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee xiii. 320 In the four years that had passed since Oliver Otis Howard treated Cochise and the Apaches with justice, he had learned that the Army was not tolerant of ‘Indian lovers.’
1992 M. Tem Wilding i. 1 For a while, building the houses rivaled goldmining and Indian-fighting and saloon-keeping and preaching and whoring as ways to make a living and keep life interesting.
2000 Wicazo Sa Rev. 15 94 But what may not be so obvious is that Indian loving is based on the same premise as Indian hating.
(b)
Indian fighter n. North American (now historical) a person, esp. a soldier, noted for fighting North American Indians.
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1824 Acts Commonw. Kentucky 32nd Gen. Assembly 1st Sess. dclxxix. 409 Corn was a brave Indian fighter.
1832 Louisville Directory 97 The..gallantry..characteristic of the backwoods hunters and Indian fighters as they were termed in those days.
1942 Newsweek 31 Aug. 22/1 The Rangers were named after Rogers's Rangers, the rough and crafty Indian fighters of colonial days who battled near the Canadian border.
2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 1 Nov. 63/3 Carson's public image was turned on its head and the Indian fighter of generations of schoolboys became the Indian killer of scholars.
b. Compounds with Indian's.
Indian's dream n. any of several North American ferns of rocky habitats, esp. the cliff-brake Pellaea atropurpurea and the lace fern Aspidotis densa.
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1889 Cent. Dict. Indian's dream, A North American fern, Pellæa atropurpurea.
1907 F. W. Hodge Handbk. Amer. Indians i. 607 Indian's dream, the purple-stemmed cliff-brake (Pellæa atropurpurea).
1952 Amer. Fern Jrnl. 42 140 Cheilanthes..siliquosa..: Dense Cliff-brake, Indian's-dream.
2007 S. Olsen Encycl. Garden Ferns 104/2 Aspidotis densa,..Indian's dream..is a compact 4- to 8-in..evergreen with shiny, russet, strongly vertical, flagpolelike stipes.
Indian's paintbrush n. = Indian paintbrush n. at Compounds 1b(b).
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1898 Atlantic Monthly 82 497/2 The exquisite vernal iris and the scarlet painted cup, otherwise known as the Indian's paint-brush and prairie fire, splendid for color.
2002 G. Baines Dear M.K. 182 There were even some Indian's paintbrush beginning to bloom, though the most common dabs of color were deep pink, wild roses.
Derivatives
ˈIndian-like adj. (and adv.)
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1613 G. Chapman Memorable Maske Inns of Court sig. A2v Buskins embrodered with gould, and enterlac't with rewes of fethers; Altogether estrangfull, and Indian like.
a1765 E. Young Wks. (1767) III. 95 ‘Behold the Sun!’ and, Indianlike, adore.
1851 M. Reid Scalp Hunters I. ii. 16 Their erect, Indian-like carriage in the streets.
1869 T. W. Higginson Army Life (1870) 56 An Indian-like knowledge of the country.
1920 Harvard Theol. Rev. 13 350 The treaty then signed..was so Indian-like, so simple and yet so powerful in its material, direct conditions.
2001 New Yorker (Nexis) 29 Jan. 82 The woman, tall and Indianlike, had on a green sun hat.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.a1393