in|di|go

in|di|go «IHN duh goh», noun, plural -gos or -goes, adjective.

–n.

1. a blue dye that can be obtained from various plants. It is now usually made artificially, especially from aniline. »

The source of the world's indigo until the end of the nineteenth century was India, where over a million acres were set aside for the dye-producing plant (Atlantic).

2. a plant from which indigo was formerly obtained. Indigo belongs to the pea family.

3. a deep violet-blue color, one of the seven prismatic or primary colors.

4. = indigo blue (def. 2). (Cf. ↑indigo blue) Synthetic indigo is the same as indigotin, but natural indigo contains additional substances.

–adj.

deep violet-blue.

╂[< Spanish índigo, and índico < Latin indicum < Greek indikón the blue Indian dye]