Etymologically
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indigo

Etymology and origin of the English word indigo

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From
Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/, /ˈɪndɪˌɡoʊ/[1]

Etymology

It came into English from several languages at once:[2] Spanish índigo or índico,[3][2][4][5] Portuguese endego[3][2][4] and Dutch indigo.[3][2][4] All go back to Latin indicum (“indigo”),[3][2][4][6][5] from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian (dye)”),[3][2][4][6][5] neuter of indikós “Indian”, from Indós “the Indus River”.[3][2][4][6] It is related to India and Indian.[3][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The blue dye obtained from certain plants (1555 as endego in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, 1550s as indico in Etymonline).[2][6][4]

Semantic evolution

The spelling indigo appeared in the late 16th century (1598)[2] and replaced indico in the 17th.[4] The word replaced Middle English ynde (1296), from Old French inde.[2][4] The plants yielding the dye were called indigo from 1600,[7] the color from the 1620s,[4][7] and Newton named it in 1704 as one of the colors of the spectrum, between blue and violet.[4][7] The adjective is recorded from 1856.[7][2]

Timeline

  • 1296 – Middle English ynde, indigo pigment.[2]
  • 1555 – endego, the dye.[2][6]
  • 1598 – the spelling indigo.[2]
  • 1600 – the indigo plant.[7]
  • 1622 – the color.[7]
  • 1704 – a color of the spectrum (Newton).[4]
  • 1856 – adjective.[7][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A blue dye obtained from certain plants or made synthetically.
  2. Any of various plants of the pea family yielding this dye, or related plants.
  3. A deep violet-blue color, lying between blue and violet in the spectrum.

Adjective

  1. Of a deep violet-blue color.

Word family

  • indigo blue
  • India
  • Indian
  • aniline

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Indigo.” Etymologically, 14 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/indigo. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·