Indian \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 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">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">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.)
Apocynum+({A.+cannabinum">(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
Avicenn[ae]). 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 (Zo["o]l.), 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">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 ({Ipom[oe]a 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
Aris[ae]ma. 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.
