Where does “indigo” come from?
indigo (English) comes from Dutch indigo, from Latin indicum, from Latin Indicus, from Ancient Greek ἰνδικός, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός, from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁, from Sanskrit सिन्धु.
indigo (English): A purplish-blue colour; An indigo-colored dye...
Definitions
- A purplish-blue colour; An indigo-colored dye...
Ancestry of “indigo”, step by step
indigo traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Dutch indigo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch | indigo | The colour indigo; indigo-coloured |
| 2 | Latin | indicum | genitive plural of index; inflection of... |
| 3 | Latin | Indicus | of India |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | ἰνδικός | Indian, Indic |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδία | — |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | Ἰνδός | an inhabitant of India or the Indian... |
| 7 | Old Persian | 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 | India; people living beyond the Indus |
| 8 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु | a river, stream; flood, waters; ocean, sea |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | síndʰuṣ | river, ocean; flow |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | síndʰuš | river, stream |
| 11 | Sanskrit | सिन्धु॑ | — |
via Spanish índigo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spanish | índigo | indigo; indigo plant |
via Portuguese índigo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | índigo | indigo |