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. Hindu.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies,
or, sometimes, to the West Indies.
[1913 Webster]
2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of
America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.
[1913 Webster]
3. Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian
meal, Indian bread, and the like. [U.S.]
[1913 Webster]
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 cress (Bot.), nasturtium. See Nasturtium, 2.
Indian cucumber (Bot.), a plant of the genus Medeola
(Medeola 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 (Symphoricarpus 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 (Apocynum
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 (Zool.), 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 (Gillenia trifoliata, and Gillenia
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 (Canna
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. Aris[ae]ma 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.
[1913 Webster]
|
Mahogany \Ma*hog"a*ny\, Mahogany tree \Ma*hog"a*ny tree`\, n.
[From the South American name.]
1. (Bot.) A large tree of the genus Swietenia (Swietenia
Mahogoni), found in tropical America.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Several other trees, with wood more or less like
mahogany, are called by this name; as, African mahogany
(Khaya Senegalensis), Australian mahogany
(Eucalyptus marginatus), Bastard mahogany (Batonia
apetala of the West Indies), Indian mahogany (Cedrela
Toona of Bengal, and trees of the genera Soymida and
Chukrassia), Madeira mahogany (Persea Indica),
Mountain mahogany, the black or cherry birch (Betula
lenta), also the several species of Cercocarpus of
California and the Rocky Mountains.
[1913 Webster]
2. The wood of the Swietenia Mahogoni. It is of a reddish
brown color, beautifully veined, very hard, and
susceptible of a fine polish. It is used in the
manufacture of furniture.
[1913 Webster]
3. A table made of mahogany wood. [Colloq.]
[1913 Webster]
To be under the mahogany, to be so drunk as to have fallen
under the table. [Eng.]
To put one's legs under some one's mahogany, to dine with
him. [Slang]
[1913 Webster]
|
Canary \Ca*na"ry\, a. [F. Canarie, L. Canaria insula one of the
Canary islands, said to be so called from its large dogs, fr.
canis dog.]
1. Of or pertaining to the Canary Islands; as, canary wine;
canary birds.
[1913 Webster]
2. Of a pale yellowish color; as, Canary stone.
[1913 Webster]
Canary grass, a grass of the genus Phalaris (Phalaris
Canariensis), producing the seed used as food for canary
birds.
Canary stone (Min.), a yellow species of carnelian, named
from its resemblance in color to the plumage of the canary
bird.
Canary wood, the beautiful wood of the trees Persea
Indica and Persea Canariensis, natives of Madeira and
the Canary Islands.
Canary vine. See Canary bird flower, under Canary bird.
[1913 Webster]
|