indigo

See also: Indigo, índigo, indigó, and indīgo

English

Etymology

16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία (Indía). Doublet of Indic.

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: ĭn'dĭgō, IPA^(key): /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: ĭn'dĭgō, IPA^(key): /ˈɪndɪˌɡoʊ/

Noun

indigo (countable and uncountable, plural indigos or indigoes)

1. A purplish-blue colour.

   indigo:  

   web indigo:  

   • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

     The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity.

2. An indigo-colored dye obtained from certain plants (indigo plant or woad), or a similar synthetic dye.
3. An indigo plant, such as from species in genera Indigofera, Amorpha (false indigo), Baptisia (wild indigo), and Psorothamnus and Dalea (indigo bush).

Derived terms

• Birdsville indigo
• Chinese indigo
• Eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi)
• false blue indigo (Baptisia australis)
• false indigo (Baptisia spp., Amorpha spp.)
• green indigo
• indigo bird (Viduidae family)
• indigo blue
• indigo brown
• indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea)
• indigo carmine
• Indigo child
• indigo copper
• indigo red
• indigo snake (Drymarchon spp.)
• indigo white
• indium
• Japanese indigo (Persicaria tinctoria)
• wild indigo (Baptisia tinctoria)
• yellow false indigo (Baptisia tinctoria)

 

Related terms

• indican
• indicolite
• indium
• indoxyl
• induline

 

Translations

colour

• Albanian: llullaq (sq), vjollcë (sq), indigo, çivit (sq)
• Arabic: نِيلِيّ (nīliyy)
• Azerbaijani: indiqo
• Bambara: gala
• Bulgarian: индиго m (indigo)
• Catalan: indi (ca) m, anyil m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 靛青 (zh) (diànqīng), 靛藍／靛蓝 (zh) (diànlán)

• Czech: indigo n
• Dutch: indigo (nl) n
• Esperanto: indigo
• Finnish: indigo (fi), indigonsininen
• French: indigo (fr) m
• Galician: índigo m, anil m
• German: Indigo (de) n
• Greek: ινδικό (el) m (indikó)
• Hebrew: אינדיגו (he) m (índigo)
• Hiligaynon: anyil
• Hindi: नील (hi) m (nīl)
• Hungarian: indigó (hu)
• Indonesian: biru (id), nila (id)
• Irish: indeagó m
• Italian: indaco (it) m
• Japanese: インジゴ (injigo), 藍色 (ja) (あいいろ, aiiro)
• Kapampangan: tayum, magingtayum
• Korean: 남빛 (nambit), 쪽빛 (ko) (jjokbit), 남색 (ko) (namsaek)
• Latin: indicum m
• Ligurian: éndego
• Macedonian: индиго n (indigo), чивит m (čivit)
• Malagasy: aika (mg)
• Malay: biru nila (ms)
• Maltese: nir m
• Navajo: diłhiłgo dootłʼizh
• Pashto: نيلي (ps) (nili)
• Persian: نیلی (fa) (nīlī), نیلگون (fa) (nīlgun)
• Polish: indygo (pl)
• Portuguese: anil (pt) m, índigo (pt) m
• Romanian: indigo (ro) n
• Russian: инди́го (ru) n (indígo)
• Serbo-Croatian: ìndigo (sh) m or n, čìvit (sh) m
• Spanish: índigo (es) m, añil (es) m, turquí (es) m
• Swedish: indigoblå
• Tagalog: indigo, anyil
• Tajik: индиго (indigo)
• Thai: คราม (th) (kraam)
• Tibetan: རམས (rams)
• Turkish: indigo (tr), çivit mavisi (tr)
• Vietnamese: chàm (vi)

dye

• Albanian: ngjyrë blu-vjollcë
• Bambara: galaji
• Bulgarian: индиго n (indigo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 靛青 (zh) (diànqīng), 靛藍／靛蓝 (zh) (diànlán)

• Finnish: indigo (fi), indigonsininen
• French: indigo (fr) m
• Galician: índigo m, anil m
• German: Indigo (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: Ἰνδικόν n (Indikón)

• Hiligaynon: anyil
• Hindi: नील (hi) m (nīl)
• Irish: plúirín m, indeagó m
• Italian: indaco (it) m
• Japanese: インジゴ (injigo), 藍色 (ja) (あいいろ, aiiro)
• Kazakh: индиго (indigo)
• Kyrgyz: индиго (ky) (indigo)
• Macedonian: индиго n (indigo), чивит m (čivit)
• Persian: نیل (fa) (nīl)
• Polish: indygo (pl)
• Portuguese: anil (pt) m, índigo (pt) m
• Romanian: indigo (ro) n
• Russian: инди́го (ru) n (indígo)
• Scottish Gaelic: guirmean m
• Serbo-Croatian: ìndigo (sh) m or n, čìvit (sh) m
• Spanish: índigo (es) m, añil (es) m
• Swedish: indigo (sv)
• Thai: คราม (th) (kraam)
• Tibetan: རམས (rams)
• Turkish: indigo (tr), çivit mavisi (tr)
• Vietnamese: bột chàm, thuốc nhuộm chàm

plant

• Finnish: indigo (fi) (Indigofera), väri-indigo (Indgigofera tinctoria), sulkapensas (fi) (Amorpha), etelänherne (fi) (Baptisia)
• Romanian: indigo (ro) n
• Scottish Gaelic: guirmean m

Adjective

indigo (comparative more indigo, superlative most indigo)

1. having a deep purplish-blue colour

Translations

colour

• Arabic: نِيلِيّ (nīliyy)
• Belarusian: індыга (indyha)
• Bulgarian: индиго m (indigo)
• Burmese: မဲနယ် (my) (mai:nai)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 靛藍／靛蓝 (zh) (diànlán), 靛青 (zh) (diànqīng)

• Dutch: indigo (nl), indigoblauw (nl), indigoblauwe (nl)
• Esperanto: indiga
• Faroese: indigo
• Finnish: indigonsininen
• French: indigo (fr)
• Georgian: ინდიგოსფერი (indigosperi) (neologism)
• German: indigofarben (de)
• Hindi: नील (hi) m (nīl)
• Icelandic: indígóblár
• Interlingua: indigo
• Irish: indeagó m (genitive of the noun)
• Italian: indaco (it) m or f
• Japanese: インジゴ (indigo), 藍色 (ja) (あいいろ, aiiro)
• Korean: 남색(藍色) (ko) (namsaek), 남빛 (nambit), 쪽빛 (ko) (jjokbit)
• Kyrgyz: индиго (ky) (indigo)
• Macedonian: индиго (indigo)
• Maori: tūāuri, tuauri
• Middle Persian: 𐭭𐭩𐭫 (nyl /⁠nīl⁠/)
• Persian: نیلی (fa) (nili)
• Polish: indygo (pl)
• Portuguese: anil (pt), índigo (pt)
• Romanian: indigo (ro)
• Russian: цве́та инди́го (ru) (cvéta indígo), инди́говый (ru) (indígovyj)
• Sinhalese: ඉන්ඩිගෝ (si) (inḍigō)
• Spanish: índigo (es), añil (es)
• Swedish: indigo (sv)
• Thai: คราม (th) (kraam)
• Turkish: indigo (tr), indigo renkli
• Ukrainian: індиго m (indyho)
• Yiddish: אינדיגאָ m (indigo)

See also

• anil
• aniline
• Baptisia tinctoria
• rainbow
• Saxon blue
• Appendix:Colors

Colors/Colours in English (layout · text)
red	orange	yellow	green	blue (incl.      indigo;              cyan, teal, turquoise)	purple / violet
pink (including          magenta)	brown		white	grey/gray	black

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

indigo n (plural indigo's)

1. The colour indigo.

Adjective

indigo (invariable, comparative meer indigo, superlative meest indigo)

1. indigo-coloured.

Declension

Declension of indigo
uninflected	indigo
inflected	indigo
comparative	—
		positive
predicative/adverbial		indigo
indefinite	m./f. sing.	indigo
	n. sing.	indigo
	plural	indigo
definite		indigo
partitive		indigo's

See also

Colors in Dutch · kleuren (layout · text)

wit	grijs	zwart
rood; karmijnrood	oranje; bruin	geel; roomwit
groengeel/limoengroen	groen
blauwgroen/cyaan; groenblauw/petrolblauw	azuurblauw	blauw
violet; indigo	magenta; paars	roze

Esperanto

Etymology

Derived from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [inˈdiɡo]
• Rhymes: -iɡo
• Hyphenation: in‧di‧go

Noun

indigo (accusative singular indigon, plural indigoj, accusative plural indigojn)

1. indigo ("colour")

Derived terms

• indiga
• indigujo

 

Finnish

Etymology

From Swedish indigo, from Spanish índigo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈindiɡo/, [ˈindiɡo̞]
• Rhymes: -indiɡo
• Syllabification^(key): in‧di‧go

Noun

indigo

1. indigo (color)
2. indigo (plant of the genus Indigofera)

Declension

Inflection of indigo (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)
nominative		indigo	indigot
genitive		indigon	indigojen indigoiden indigoitten
partitive		indigoa	indigoja indigoita
illative		indigoon	indigoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		indigo	indigot
accusative	nom.	indigo	indigot
	gen.	indigon
genitive		indigon	indigojen indigoiden indigoitten
partitive		indigoa	indigoja indigoita
inessive		indigossa	indigoissa
elative		indigosta	indigoista
illative		indigoon	indigoihin
adessive		indigolla	indigoilla
ablative		indigolta	indigoilta
allative		indigolle	indigoille
essive		indigona	indigoina
translative		indigoksi	indigoiksi
abessive		indigotta	indigoitta
instructive		—	indigoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of indigo (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative indigoni indigoni accusative nom. indigoni indigoni gen. indigoni genitive indigoni indigojeni indigoideni indigoitteni partitive indigoani indigojani indigoitani inessive indigossani indigoissani elative indigostani indigoistani illative indigooni indigoihini adessive indigollani indigoillani ablative indigoltani indigoiltani allative indigolleni indigoilleni essive indigonani indigoinani translative indigokseni indigoikseni abessive indigottani indigoittani instructive — — comitative — indigoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative indigosi indigosi accusative nom. indigosi indigosi gen. indigosi genitive indigosi indigojesi indigoidesi indigoittesi partitive indigoasi indigojasi indigoitasi inessive indigossasi indigoissasi elative indigostasi indigoistasi illative indigoosi indigoihisi adessive indigollasi indigoillasi ablative indigoltasi indigoiltasi allative indigollesi indigoillesi essive indigonasi indigoinasi translative indigoksesi indigoiksesi abessive indigottasi indigoittasi instructive — — comitative — indigoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative indigomme indigomme accusative nom. indigomme indigomme gen. indigomme genitive indigomme indigojemme indigoidemme indigoittemme partitive indigoamme indigojamme indigoitamme inessive indigossamme indigoissamme elative indigostamme indigoistamme illative indigoomme indigoihimme adessive indigollamme indigoillamme ablative indigoltamme indigoiltamme allative indigollemme indigoillemme essive indigonamme indigoinamme translative indigoksemme indigoiksemme abessive indigottamme indigoittamme instructive — — comitative — indigoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative indigonne indigonne accusative nom. indigonne indigonne gen. indigonne genitive indigonne indigojenne indigoidenne indigoittenne partitive indigoanne indigojanne indigoitanne inessive indigossanne indigoissanne elative indigostanne indigoistanne illative indigoonne indigoihinne adessive indigollanne indigoillanne ablative indigoltanne indigoiltanne allative indigollenne indigoillenne essive indigonanne indigoinanne translative indigoksenne indigoiksenne abessive indigottanne indigoittanne instructive — — comitative — indigoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative indigonsa indigonsa accusative nom. indigonsa indigonsa gen. indigonsa genitive indigonsa indigojensa indigoidensa indigoittensa partitive indigoaan indigoansa indigojaan indigoitaan indigojansa indigoitansa inessive indigossaan indigossansa indigoissaan indigoissansa elative indigostaan indigostansa indigoistaan indigoistansa illative indigoonsa indigoihinsa adessive indigollaan indigollansa indigoillaan indigoillansa ablative indigoltaan indigoltansa indigoiltaan indigoiltansa allative indigolleen indigollensa indigoilleen indigoillensa essive indigonaan indigonansa indigoinaan indigoinansa translative indigokseen indigoksensa indigoikseen indigoiksensa abessive indigottaan indigottansa indigoittaan indigoittansa instructive — — comitative — indigoineen indigoinensa

Hyponyms

• väri-indigo (“Indigofera tinctoria”)

Adjective

indigo (comparative indigompi, superlative indigoin)

1. indigo (being of that color)

Declension

Inflection of indigo (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)
nominative		indigo	indigot
genitive		indigon	indigojen indigoiden indigoitten
partitive		indigoa	indigoja indigoita
illative		indigoon	indigoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		indigo	indigot
accusative	nom.	indigo	indigot
	gen.	indigon
genitive		indigon	indigojen indigoiden indigoitten
partitive		indigoa	indigoja indigoita
inessive		indigossa	indigoissa
elative		indigosta	indigoista
illative		indigoon	indigoihin
adessive		indigolla	indigoilla
ablative		indigolta	indigoilta
allative		indigolle	indigoille
essive		indigona	indigoina
translative		indigoksi	indigoiksi
abessive		indigotta	indigoitta
instructive		—	indigoin
comitative		—	indigoine

Possessive forms of indigo (Kotus type 2/palvelu, no gradation)
Rare. Only used with substantive adjectives.
first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative indigoni indigoni accusative nom. indigoni indigoni gen. indigoni genitive indigoni indigojeni indigoideni indigoitteni partitive indigoani indigojani indigoitani inessive indigossani indigoissani elative indigostani indigoistani illative indigooni indigoihini adessive indigollani indigoillani ablative indigoltani indigoiltani allative indigolleni indigoilleni essive indigonani indigoinani translative indigokseni indigoikseni abessive indigottani indigoittani instructive — — comitative — indigoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative indigosi indigosi accusative nom. indigosi indigosi gen. indigosi genitive indigosi indigojesi indigoidesi indigoittesi partitive indigoasi indigojasi indigoitasi inessive indigossasi indigoissasi elative indigostasi indigoistasi illative indigoosi indigoihisi adessive indigollasi indigoillasi ablative indigoltasi indigoiltasi allative indigollesi indigoillesi essive indigonasi indigoinasi translative indigoksesi indigoiksesi abessive indigottasi indigoittasi instructive — — comitative — indigoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative indigomme indigomme accusative nom. indigomme indigomme gen. indigomme genitive indigomme indigojemme indigoidemme indigoittemme partitive indigoamme indigojamme indigoitamme inessive indigossamme indigoissamme elative indigostamme indigoistamme illative indigoomme indigoihimme adessive indigollamme indigoillamme ablative indigoltamme indigoiltamme allative indigollemme indigoillemme essive indigonamme indigoinamme translative indigoksemme indigoiksemme abessive indigottamme indigoittamme instructive — — comitative — indigoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative indigonne indigonne accusative nom. indigonne indigonne gen. indigonne genitive indigonne indigojenne indigoidenne indigoittenne partitive indigoanne indigojanne indigoitanne inessive indigossanne indigoissanne elative indigostanne indigoistanne illative indigoonne indigoihinne adessive indigollanne indigoillanne ablative indigoltanne indigoiltanne allative indigollenne indigoillenne essive indigonanne indigoinanne translative indigoksenne indigoiksenne abessive indigottanne indigoittanne instructive — — comitative — indigoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative indigonsa indigonsa accusative nom. indigonsa indigonsa gen. indigonsa genitive indigonsa indigojensa indigoidensa indigoittensa partitive indigoaan indigoansa indigojaan indigoitaan indigojansa indigoitansa inessive indigossaan indigossansa indigoissaan indigoissansa elative indigostaan indigostansa indigoistaan indigoistansa illative indigoonsa indigoihinsa adessive indigollaan indigollansa indigoillaan indigoillansa ablative indigoltaan indigoltansa indigoiltaan indigoiltansa allative indigolleen indigollensa indigoilleen indigoillensa essive indigonaan indigonansa indigoinaan indigoinansa translative indigokseen indigoksensa indigoikseen indigoiksensa abessive indigottaan indigottansa indigoittaan indigoittansa instructive — — comitative — indigoineen indigoinensa

Derived terms

compounds

• indigokardinaali
• indigokarmiini
• indigonsininen
• indigosini

 

Further reading

• “indigo”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.di.ɡo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

indigo m (plural indigos)

1. indigo (color)

Adjective

indigo m or f (plural indigos)

1. indigo (being of that color)

See also

Colors in French · couleurs (layout · text)

blanc	gris	noir
rouge; cramoisi, carmin	orange; brun, marron	jaune; crème
lime	vert	menthe
cyan, turquoise; bleu canard	azur, bleu ciel	bleu
violet, lilas; indigo	magenta; pourpre	rose

Further reading

• “indigo”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Italian

Verb

indigo

1. first-person singular present indicative of indigere

Anagrams

• gnidio, gonidi

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French indigo.

Noun

indigo n (plural indigouri)

1. indigo

Declension

Declension of indigo

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) indigo	indigoul	(niște) indigouri	indigourile
genitive/dative	(unui) indigo	indigoului	(unor) indigouri	indigourilor
vocative	indigoule		indigourilor

Adjective

indigo m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. indigo

Declension

Declension of indigo (invariable)

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	indigo		indigo	indigo	indigo
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive/ dative	indefinite	indigo		indigo	indigo	indigo
	definite	—		—	—	—

See also

Colors in Romanian · culori (layout · text)

alb	gri	negru
roșu; carmin	portocaliu; maro	galben; crem
	verde	verde mentă
cyan	bleu	albastru
violet; indigo	mov; purpură	roz