Definition of Indan

In"di*an (?; 277), a. [From India, and this fr. Indus, the name of a river in Asia, L. Indus, Gr. &?;, OPers. Hindu, name of the land on the Indus, Skr. sindhu river, the Indus. Cf. Hindoo.]

1. Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies, or, sometimes, to the West Indies.

2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.

3. Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian meal, Indian bread, and the like. [U.S.]

Indian bay (Bot.), a lauraceous tree (Persea Indica). -- Indian bean(Bot.), a name of the catalpa. -- Indian berry. (Bot.)Same as Cocculus indicus. -- Indian bread. (Bot.)Same as Cassava. -- Indian club, a wooden club, which is swung by the hand for gymnastic exercise. -- Indian cordage, cordage made of the fibers of cocoanut husk. -- Indian corn(Bot.), a plant of the genus Zea (Z. Mays); the maize, a native of America. See Corn, and Maize. -- Indian cress(Bot.), nasturtium. See Nasturtium, 2. -- Indian cucumber(Bot.), a plant of the genus Medeola (M. Virginica), a common in woods in the United States. The white rootstock has a taste like cucumbers. -- Indian currant(Bot.), a plant of the genus Symphoricarpus (S. vulgaris), bearing small red berries. -- Indian dye, the puccoon. -- Indian fig. (Bot.)(a)The banyan. See Banyan.(b)The prickly pear. -- Indian file, single file; arrangement of persons in a row following one after another, the usual way among Indians of traversing woods, especially when on the war path. -- Indian fire, a pyrotechnic composition of sulphur, niter, and realgar, burning with a brilliant white light. -- Indian grass(Bot.), a coarse, high grass (Chrysopogon nutans), common in the southern portions of the United States; wood grass.Gray. -- Indian hemp. (Bot.)(a)A plant of the genus Apocynum (A. cannabinum), having a milky juice, and a tough, fibrous bark, whence the name. The root it used in medicine and is both emetic and cathartic in properties.(b)The variety of common hemp (Cannabis Indica), from which hasheesh is obtained. -- Indian mallow(Bot.), the velvet leaf (Abutilon Avicennæ). See Abutilon. -- Indian meal, ground corn or maize. [U.S.] -- Indian millet(Bot.), a tall annual grass (Sorghum vulgare), having many varieties, among which are broom corn, Guinea corn, durra, and the Chinese sugar cane. It is called also Guinea corn. See Durra. -- Indian ox(Zoöl.), the zebu. - - Indian paint. See Bloodroot. -- Indian paper. See India paper, under India. -- Indian physic(Bot.), a plant of two species of the genus Gillenia (G. trifoliata, and G. stipulacea), common in the United States, the roots of which are used in medicine as a mild emetic; -- called also American ipecac, and bowman's root.Gray. -- Indian pink. (Bot.)(a)The Cypress vine (Ipomœa Quamoclit); -- so called in the West Indies.(b)See China pink, under China. -- Indian pipe(Bot.), a low, fleshy herb (Monotropa uniflora), growing in clusters in dark woods, and having scalelike leaves, and a solitary nodding flower. The whole plant is waxy white, but turns black in drying. -- Indian plantain(Bot.), a name given to several species of the genus Cacalia, tall herbs with composite white flowers, common through the United States in rich woods.Gray. -- Indian poke(Bot.), a plant usually known as the white hellebore (Veratrum viride). -- Indian pudding, a pudding of which the chief ingredients are Indian meal, milk, and molasses. -- Indian purple. (a)A dull purple color.(b)The pigment of the same name, intensely blue and black. -- Indian red. (a)A purplish red earth or pigment composed of a silicate of iron and alumina, with magnesia. It comes from the Persian Gulf. Called also Persian red.(b)See Almagra. -- Indian rice(Bot.), a reedlike water grass. See Rice. -- Indian shot(Bot.), a plant of the genus Canna (C. Indica). The hard black seeds are as large as swan shot. See Canna. -- Indian summer, in the United States, a period of warm and pleasant weather occurring late in autumn. See under Summer. -- Indian tobacco(Bot.), a species of Lobelia. See Lobelia. -- Indian turnip(Bot.), an American plant of the genus Arisæma. A. triphyllum has a wrinkled farinaceous root resembling a small turnip, but with a very acrid juice. See Jack in the Pulpit, and Wake-robin. -- Indian wheat, maize or Indian corn. -- Indian yellow. (a)An intense rich yellow color, deeper than gamboge but less pure than cadmium.(b)See Euxanthin.

In"di*an (?; 277), n. 1. A native or inhabitant of India.

2. One of the aboriginal inhabitants of America; -- so called originally from the supposed identity of America with India.

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