Indigo Meaning
/ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA purplish-blue color.
nounA greenish dark blue color; the color of indigo dye.
Sentence Examples
Jeans manufacturers make denim bluer with indigo dye.
A rainbow consists of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist chose a deep blue pigment known as ____ for the painting.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The artist used a deep ____ blue to paint the stormy night sky in her new landscape piece.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
"A Southern planter has been sowing indigo and cotton together. Perhaps he contemplates raising blue cotton; and should he water the plants with nitric acid, he would probably raise gun cotton—if any."
— 1846, editorial staff, “Growing Cotton”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 2, Issue 13, page 98:
"Details of Thunberg’s charge came as Just Stop Oil said its cofounders, Indigo Rumbelow and Roger Hallam, were arrested on Wednesday morning following dawn raids at their homes."
— 2023 October 18, Damien Gayle, “Greta Thunberg charged with public order offence after London oil protest”, in The Guardian:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist chose a deep blue pigment known as ____ for the painting.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The artist used a deep ____ blue to paint the stormy night sky in her new landscape piece.