Below are the OED entries for India and Indian. The usage was very vague in the 16th-17th c. Parish clerks were educated men- they could write- and were often the parish priest, and so would have had an Oxbridge education or similar (I think?). While they might not have been clear it was Herodotus who started it, they would have thought of 'Inde' as a far away, eastern land, not necessarily in a specific geographical location- certainly in the 1st half of the 16.c when maps were not well known (see Gillies and Vaughan, Playing the Globe on the growth of 'map-mindedness' as demonstrated on the stage. See the Bodleian Map Room pages for some images of early maps of Africa: http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/users/nnj/mapcase.htm.
M xx
SECOND EDITION 1989
(nd) [a. L. India, a. Gr. , f. the (river) Indus, a. Pers. hind, OPers. (Achæmenian) hiñd'u, Zend heñdu, Skr. sindhu ‘river’, spec. the river Indus; hence the region of the Indus, the province Sindh; gradually extended by Persians and Greeks to all the country east of the Indus. OE. had India from L.; but the ME. form from Fr. was Ynde, Inde, IND (cf. Afric), now archaic and poetic; the early 16th c. adaptation of L. was Indie, INDY (cf. Italy, Germany), of which the pl. INDIES is still in use. The current use of India appears to date from the 16th c., and may partly reflect Spanish, or Portuguese usage.]
1. A large country or territory of southern Asia, lying east of the river Indus and south of the Himalaya mountains (in this restricted sense also called Hindustan: see HINDUSTANI); also extended to include the region further east (Farther or Further India), between this and China. See also EAST INDIA.
c893 K. ÆLFRED Oros. I. i. §6 æt sint India [Cott. MS. Indea] emæro..Indus seo ea be westan, and seo Reade Sæ be suan..On Indea londe is xliiii eoda. Ibid. §10 Of æm beorum e man hæt Caucasus..a e be noran India sindon. 1519 Interl. Four Elem., This quarter is India minor And this quarter India maior The lande of prester Iohn. 1576 EDEN (title) Decade of Voyages. The Navigation and Voyages of Lewes Vertomanus..to the regions of Arabia..East India, both within and without the Ganges. 1613 PURCHAS Pilgrimage (1614) 452 Under the name of India, heere we comprehend all that Tract between Indus..on the West, unto China Eastward. 1663 BUTLER Hud. I. ii. 283 He spoused in India, Of noble house, a lady gay. 1783 BURKE Sp. E. I. Bill Wks. IV. 7 If we are not able to contrive some method of governing India well. 1818 MILL Brit. India (1826) V. 533 The same barefaced disregard of truth, which always characterized the natives of India.
2. Formerly applied to America, or some parts of it: see quots., and cf. INDIES, WEST INDIES.
(Mostly reproducing Spanish or Portuguese usage.)
1553 EDEN (title) A treatyse of the newe India, with other new founde landes and Ilandes..after the descripcion of Sebastian Munster. 1613 PURCHAS Pilgrimage (1614) 451 The name of India, is now applied to all farre-distant Countries, not in the extreeme limits of Asia alone; but even to whole America, through the errour of Columbus..who..in the Westerne world, thought that they had met with Ophir, and the Indian Regions of the East. Ibid. 786 It [Chololla] was the Citie of most devotion in all India..Eight leagues from Chololla is the hill Popocatepec, or smoake-hill. 1760-72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) II. 243 An idea of the fertility of this country..a live beast..may be purchased for four dollars; a price vastly beneath that in any other part of India.
3. pl. = INDIES. Obs.
1523 St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 193 Golde..browght hithir from the Indias. 1548 HALL Chron., Hen. VIII, 125 By the labor..of us only Portyngales, the trade to the..Indias [was] fyrst sought and found. 1604 T. WRIGHT Passions VI. 333 In every place, as in the Indiaes..the vse of many seemeth to take away all abuse.
4. Used allusively for a source of wealth. Obs.
1613 J. MAY Declar. Est. Clothing i. 2 No kingdome whatsoeuer can speake so happily of this benefit [wool]..it may be rightly called, The English India.
5. Short for India silk, paper, etc.: see 6.
1712-13 STEELE Guardian No. 10 5 Celia, whose wrapping-gown is not right India. 1812 H. & J. SMITH Rej. Addr., Theatre 104 Where Spitalfields with real India vies. 1885 Daily News 21 Dec. 4/4 This celebrated..plate, now ready for issue, signed, India remarque.
6. attrib. Belonging or relating to India, Indian; esp. in names of fabrics or other commodities imported from India, as India calico, carpet, cloth, cotton, cracker, goods, lake, matting, muslin, satin, shawl, silk, etc.; also, of or belonging to the East India Company, or to the British Indian Empire or government, as India bonds, stock, etc.; (East and West) India Docks, docks in East London, formerly appropriated to vessels trading with the East and West Indies; India House, the office of the East India Company in London; India ink (see INDIAN INK); India Office, that department of the British Government which dealt with Indian affairs; India proof = India paper proof: see INDIA PAPER 1; India red = Indian red (see INDIAN A. 4a); India tag, a type of tag which is used to fasten papers together and consists of a cord with a small metal bar at either end; India wood, a name for log-wood. See also INDIA PAPER, RUBBER.
1751 SMOLLETT Per. Pic. I. i, His money, which he had laid out in Bank stock and *India bonds.
1805 Times 7 Nov. 1/1 Stout *India calico, full ell-wide.
c1702 C. FIENNES Journeys (1947) 346 A pladd bed lined with Indian callicoe and an *India carpet on the bed. 1931 A. U. DILLEY Oriental Rugs & Carpets Pl. 32 (caption) India Carpets of Seventeenth Century from the Palace of the Maharaja at Jaipur.
1817 RAFFLES Java (1830) I. 243 The import and export of..*India cloths.
1881 C. C. HARRISON Woman's Handiwork III. 176 Scarves of *India cotton worked in tarnished gold.
1779 Phil. Trans. LXIX. 413 Those paper matches which the Chinese put into those little squibs, which go by the name of *India crackers.
1773 GOLDSM. Stoops to Conq. II. i, Left me by my uncle, the *India director.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 45 The East *India Docks..are situated at Blackwall, below the entrance to the West India Docks. 1848 DICKENS Dombey ix, Captain Cuttle lived..near the India Docks.
1837 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 95 So, *India-fashion, we took him in to do the best we could for him.
1712 E. COOKE Voy. S. Sea 363 Laden with rich *India Goods.
1794 W. WOODFALL (title) A Sketch of a Debate at the *India House. 1856 EMERSON Eng. Traits x. 165 Scandinavian Thor..sits down at a desk in the India House.
1658 W. SANDERSON Graphice 80 The Colour Crimson is most difficult to worke..therefore instead of that, use *India Lake or Russet.
1858 SIMMONDS Dict. Trade, *India-matting, grass or reed mats, made..from Papyrus corymbosus.
1885 Daily News 21 Dec. 4/5 Tea and *India merchants.
1796 M. EDGEWORTH Parent's Assistant (ed. 2) II. 167 Oh, Miss Eden, your beautiful *India muslin!take care of the chimney sweeper. 1852 E. TWISLETON Let. 10 July (1928) ii. 27, I intend to appear in my India muslin. 1929 D. H. LAWRENCE Pansies 39 A yard of India muslin is alive with Hindu life.
1869 Bradshaw's Railway Manual XXI. 394 Government Director of the Indian Railway Companies, *India Office, Whitehall, S.W. 1880 E. W. HAMILTON Diary 24 Apr. (1972) I. 2 Cabinet-making has been going on all day... Lord Hartington [is to go] to the India office. 1885 Daily News 22 Sept. 2/1 Industrious at the India Office.
1895 Ibid. 26 Feb. 6/3 *India Pale Ale is so called because it was originally made solely with a view to the climate of the East Indies.
1732 J. PEELE Water-Colours 42 *India-Red..is helpful for a back Ground.
1822 D. WORDSWORTH Jrnl. 23 Sept. (1941) II. 374 The ladies..wore gorgeously embroidered *India shawls. 1837 DICKENS Mudfog Papers (1880) 159 His view of the ladies within being obstructed by the India shawls.
1756 B. FRANKLIN Writings (1905) III. 294 When you incline to buy..*India silks. 1816 SCOTT Antiq. III. vii. 142 His India silk handkerchief. 1881 C. C. HARRISON Woman's Handiwork I. 48 The India silks manufactured for Mr. Louis Tiffany, by a well-known firm in Connecticut, from cocoons imported by themselves.
1769 (title) An Address to the Proprietors of *India Stock. 1809 R. LANGFORD Introd. Trade 57 India stock..is the capital of the East India Company, and is placed under the management of a Court of Directors. 1849 THACKERAY Pendennis II. vii, Three stars in India Stock to her name, begad!
1912 List Articles Authorised to be Supplied by H.M.S.O., Tags, Treasury (Insertion), Tags, *India (cross-bar). 1963 R. L. COLLISON Mod. Business Filing & Archives ii. 47 The documents are then secured to the file by what is known as a Treasury or India tagi.e. a cord with a metal tag at each end.
1800 Asiatic Ann. Reg., Hist. Ind. 2/1 Hence the mariners employed in the *India trade became confident in their skill.
1727-41 CHAMBERS Cycl., *India Wood..is taken out of the heart of a large tree growing plentifully in the isles of Jamaica, Campeche, &c.
Indian, a. and n.
SECOND EDITION 1989
(ndn) Also 5 Yndeen, 6 Indyan, 7 Indean. [f. INDIA: cf. -AN.]
A. adj.
1. a. Belonging or relating to India, or the East Indies, or to the British Indian Empire; native to India.
Formerly, sometimes, more vaguely = Oriental, Asiatic.
c1566 J. ALDAY tr. Boaystuau's Theat. World Dij, An Indian Philosopher named Diphileus. 1596 SHAKES. Merch. V. III. ii. 99 The beautious scarfe, Vailing an Indian beautie. 1667 MILTON P.L. III. 436 Toward the Springs Of Ganges or Hydaspes, Indian streams. 1734 G. SALE Koran Prelim. Disc. §1 Alexander the Great, after his return from his Indian expedition. 1793 W. ROBERTS Looker-on No. 57 11 Of China..the Emperor and other Indian monarchs. 1839 Lett. fr. Madras (1843) 283 That is the grand Indian sorrowthe necessity of parting with one's children. 1882 Garden 11 Mar. 171/1 The unrivalled collection of Indian Rhododendrons in the temperate house at Kew. 1893 ANNA BUCKLAND Our Nat. Inst. 109 The Indian Budget is brought into the English House of Commons every year and submitted to its approval.
b. Of Indian manufacture, material, or pattern.
1673 DRYDEN Marr. à la Mode III. i. Wks. 1883 IV. 304 That word shall be mine too, and my last Indian gown thine for 't. c1702 Indian Calico [see India carpet]. 1715 Lond. Gaz. No. 5367/4 Robert Sutton..Indian Gown-Seller. 1718 J. STEUART Letter-Bk. (1915) 64, I doe not mean you should goe to the expense of bying Indian chints. c1793 JANE AUSTEN Volume First (1933) 9 Your sentiments so nobly expressed on the different excellencies of Indian & English Muslins. 1794 A. YOUNG Trav. France (ed. 2) I. xix. 548 They print a great quantity of Indian callicoes. 1798 Indian shawl [see SHAWL n. 2]. 1825 HONE Every-day Bk. I. 967 Flowered Indian gowns, formerly in use with schoolmasters. 1830 M. EDGEWORTH Let. 13 Dec. (1971) 449, I have..laid out fifteen guineas onan Indian shawl. 1851 J. F. ROYLE On Culture & Commerce of Cotton in India I. 22 Indian cotton is well known to have certain good qualities of its own. 1863 A. J. MUNBY Diary 12 May in D. Hudson Munby (1972) 160 Curtains of old Indian chintz. 1873 C. M. YONGE Pillars of House IV. xlii. 218 Cherry cleared her large sofa, and covered him up with her Indian silk quilt. 1876 GEO. ELIOT Dan. Der. xxi, An Indian shawl over her arm. 1879 Queen 1 Mar. (Advt.), An entirely new under garment successfully introduced in Silk, Merino, Gauze Merino, and Indian Gauze. 1898 A. BENNETT Man From North xxviii. 241 Its square of Indian carpet over Indian matting. 1910 Encycl. Brit. VII. 258/1 The Indian cottons are usually of short staple. 1937 J. LAVER Taste & Fashion xii. 178 A combination chemise and knickers of Indian gauze. 1938 Decorative Art 83 A modern Indian rug in green. 1971 Habitat Catal. 76/2 Indian cotton durries..simple tough cotton rugs. 1974 ‘G. BLACK’ Golden Cockatrice xi. 190 Blood had reached an Indian rug.
2. Belonging or relating to the race of original inhabitants of America and the West Indies (cf. INDIA 2, INDIES 1); occas. with reference to the endurance of tortures and hardship by North American Indians. Indian house, a wigwam.
a1618 SYLVESTER Tobacco Battered 19 (That which now no Ingle wants) Indian Tobacco. 1634 Relat. Ld. Baltimore's Plant. (1865) 17 The Indian houses are all built heere in a long halfe Ouall. 1637 T. MORTON New Eng. Canaan (1883) 198 A small sized Choffe that eateth the Indian maisze. 1657 R. LIGON Barbadoes (1673) 55 This Indian Maid..fell in love with him, and hid him close from her Countrymen. 1716 B. CHURCH Hist. Philip's War (1867) II. 112 In ranging the Woods found several Indian-houses, their fires being just out, but no Indians. 1737 J. WESLEY Let. 22 July (1931) I. 225 When..He shall have chosen one or more to magnify Him,..not with a stoical or Indian indifference, but blessing and praying for their murderers. 1798 I. ALLEN Hist. Vermont 34 To give an Indian whoop and raise their ambuscade. 1817 COLERIDGE Biogr. Lit. I. x. 185 Three week's truly Indian perseverance in tracking us. 1822 WORDSWORTH Eccl. Sk. 67 The shrouded Body, to the Soul's command, Answering with more than Indian fortitude. 1855 LONGFELLOW Hiaw. Introd. 86 Listen to this Indian Legend, To this Song of Hiawatha! 1888 M. A. GREEN Springfield (Mass.) 3 It was, in fact, an Indian trail centre. 1916 C. A. EASTMAN From Deep Woods to Civilization iii. 32 He took out his Bible and hymn-book printed in the Indian tongue. 1931 F. J. STIMSON My United States i. 4 Indian camps were not unusual in the vacant lots outlying Dubuque. 1934 Beaver June 9 When word came that they had landed, I left the living room for the Indian shop. 1940 W. FAULKNER Hamlet II. 98 A man who was not thin so much as actually gaunt, with straight black hair..and high Indian cheekbones. 1942 Chicago Tribune 24 Nov. 12/3 This stone marks the site of an ancient Indian village and chipping station. 1966 Oxf. Compan. Amer. Hist. 405/2 Since Indian tribes acted as buffer states between French and British colonies and were invaluable allies in time of war, colonial governors always sought to make treaties of friendship with the Indians. 1969 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 5 Oct. 10/3 An Indian express was sent ahead to Fort Colville. 1970 D. BROWN Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee ii. 15 Many of the Mexicans had Indian blood. 1971 Times 30 Sept. 12/3 There has been a resurgence of interest in the Indians..partly (among the young) to embrace aspects of Indian life on behalf of the counter-culture. 1971 Times 15 Oct. 14/4 Dr. Robert Euler..has directed salvage archeology at prehistoric Indian sites in the area to be mined. 1973 Freedomways XIII. 81 The book is rich with examples of Indian culture and social life as practiced by the Oglala.
3. Made of Indian corn or Maize, as Indian bread (see also 4b), Indian meal, Indian dumpling.
1635 Mass. Col. Rec. (1853) I. 140 Noe person whatsoeuer shall from henceforth transport any Indean corne or meale out of this jurisdiccon, till the nexte harvest. 1672 SIR W. TALBOT in F. L. Hawks Hist. N. Carolina (1858) II. 45 Who, at our setting out, laughed at my provision of Indian-meal. 1751 J. BARTRAM Observ. Trav. Pennsylv., etc. 60 Last of all was served a great bowl, full of Indian dumplings, of new soft corn, cut or scraped off the ear. 1775 Connect. Col. Rec. (1890) XV. 16 Half a pint of rice or a pint of indian meal. 1897 WILLIS Man. Flower. Plants II. 395 The grain [of maize] is made into flour, Indian meal.
4. In names of various natural and artificial products a. of India or the East Indies (sense 1), or so originally supposed: Indian almond, a large tree (Terminalia Catappa), the seeds of which resemble almonds; Indian antelope = black-buck (BLACK a. 19); Indian ass, a fabulous animal like a unicorn; Indian berry = COCCULUS INDICUS, or the plant (Anamirta Cocculus) which yields this; Indian blue, a name for indigo (cf. INDY blue); Indian cane, a name for the Bamboo; Indian club, a heavy club shaped somewhat like a large bottle, for use in gymnastic exercises; hence Indian-clubber; Indian cock, an old name for the turkey (cf. cock of Ind, COCK n.1 10, F. coq d'Inde, and synonymous names in other European languages: prob. by some confusion; the bird being a native of North America); Indian crocus, a name for the dwarf orchids of the subgenus Pleione (genus Clogyne), having large bright-coloured flowers which appear before the leaves (as in the crocus) or after the leaves have fallen; Indian elephant, the smaller of the two existing species of elephant, Elephas maximus; Indian English, the form of English used by inhabitants of India for whom English is not a native language; cf. BABU; Indian eye, name for a species of pink (Dianthus plumarius), from the eye-shaped marking on the corolla; Indian fire, a composition of sulphur, realgar, and nitre, burning with a brilliant white flame, used as a signal-light; Indian geranium, name for a grass of the genus Andropogon, which yields a fragrant oil used in perfumery; Indian grass, an old name of silkworm gut used by anglers; (see also in b below); Indian hay U.S. slang, marijuana; Indian head (see quot. 19572); Indian heart, a plant of the genus Cardiospermum, esp. C. Corindum (see heartseed, s.v. HEART n. 56b); Indian hemp: see HEMP 5 (see also in b below); Indian hog, a name of the Babiroussa; Indian house, a shop for the sale of Indian goods; Indian ivy, a climbing plant of the genus Scindapsus (N.O. Araceæ); Indian leaf, the aromatic leaf of a species of Cinnamomum; Indian light = BENGAL light; Indian lotus, an aquatic plant, Nelumbo nucifera, native to Asia, and bearing fragrant white or pink flowers; also called Egyptian or sacred lotus; Indian mouse = ICHNEUMON 1; Indian nut, the coco-nut; Indian oak, a name for the teak-tree (Treas. Bot. 1866); Indian Ocean, the ocean lying to the south of India, extending from the east coast of Africa to the Malay Archipelago; Indian oil, in phrase to anoint with I. o., to ‘tip’ with gold; Indian rat = Indian mouse; Indian red, a red pigment orig. obtained from the East Indies in the form of an earth containing oxide of iron; now prepared artificially by roasting iron sulphate (Ure Dict. Arts (1875) II. 890); Indian reed = next (Treas. Bot. 1866): (see also in b below); Indian shot, name for the plant Canna indica (N.O. Marantaceæ), from its round hard black seeds; Indian tea, tea grown in India or Sri Lanka, especially in Assam and the Darjeeling district; cf. sense 4b below; Indian walnut, a name for the Candleberry-tree (Aleurites triloba), from the form of its seeds (Treas. Bot. 1866); Indian weed = Indian grass; (see also in b below); Indian work, Indian handicraft, spec. drawn-thread work on muslin; Indian yellow, a bright yellow pigment obtained from India: see quot.
1887 C. A. MOLONEY Forestry W. Afr. 351 *Indian Almond..Large tree... The bark and leaves yield a black pigment, used by the Indians to dye their teeth.
1888 *Indian Antilope [see black-buck (BLACK a. 19)]. 1964 E. P. WALKER et al. Mammals of World II. 1457/1 Blackbucks, Indian Antelopes... This animal occasionally lives in herds of several hundred members.
1594 BLUNDEVIL Exerc. V. x. (1636) 553 The Unicorne is found in Æthiopia, like as the *Indian Asse is found in India, which hath like~wise one only horne in his forehead.
1765 CROKER, etc. Dict. Arts & Sc., *Indian Berry, Cocculus Indicus. 1828 WEBSTER, Indian Berry, a plant of the genus Menispermum.
1578 LYTE Dodoens IV. liv. 531 The Cane of Inde, or ye *Indian Cane is of the kind of Reedes, very high, long, great, and strong.
1857 Chambers' Inform. People II. 674/1 *Indian Club Exercises..The main object is to expand the chest, and increase the power of the arms.
1891 Harper's Mag. July 177/1 A more persevering dumb-beller and *Indian-clubber never was.
1638 tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1651) 10 The *Indian-Cock, commonly called the Turkey-Cock.
1882 Garden 30 Sept. 304/1 *Indian Crocuses..are now among the gayest occupants of Orchid houses.
1607 TOPSELL Four-f. Beasts 192 The *Indian Elephants are greatest, strongest, and tallest. 1965 D. MORRIS Mammals 338 Smaller than the African Elephant, the bull Indian Elephant rarely reaches 10 feet high at the shoulder.
1907 G. C. WHITWORTH (title) *Indian English: an examination of the errors of idiom made by Indians in writing English. 1934 R. C. GOFFIN in S.P.E. Tract XLI. 31 We have touched on the preference of Indian English for the archaic in vocabulary and phrase. 1971 Shankar's Weekly (Delhi) 4 Apr. 22/3 The best of Indian English et al you gave.
1573 TUSSER Husb. xliii. (1878) 96 *Indian eie, sowe in May, or set in slips in March.
1875 Ure's Dict. Arts II. 890 *Indian fire..is composed of 7 parts of sulphur, 2 of realgar, and 24 of nitre.
1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3206/4 Angle-Rods made of Foreign Dogwood..also the best new *Indian Grass, and all other sorts of Fishing Tackle. 1769 G. WHITE Selborne xxii. (1789) 63 Your account of the Indian-grass was entertaining..Inquiring..what they supposed that part of their tackle to be made of? they replied ‘of the intestines of a silkworm’.
1939 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 1 July 4/1 In America the name marihuana..is used. It has numerous picturesque names, such as muggles, reefers, Mary Warner, *Indian hay, the weed and tea. 1969 Sci. Amer. Dec. 17 In the U.S. it [sc. marijuana] is variously called the weed, stuff, Indian hay,..and other names.
1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 9 Apr. 24/2 New Wash Dress Materials in Muslins..*Indian head and Linen Suitings. 1957 M. MCCARTHY Memories Catholic Girlhood vi. 117 Blue Indianhead 20 yds. 1957 M. B. PICKEN Fashion Dict. 183/1 Indian head, trade name for sturdy, firm, cotton material of linen-weave, made in many lovely colors. Used for work, play, and sports clothing and for home furnishings.
1884 MILLER Plant-n., Cardiospermum Corindum, Heart-seed, *Indian Heart.
1876 B. W. RICHARDSON Dis. Mod. Life xii. 324 The ancient Scythian..threw the seed of the *Indian hemp on the hot stones and then inhaled the narcotic vapour. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 900 It is stated by the ‘Indian Hemp Drug Commission’ of 1893-94 that ‘its moderate use has no physical, mental, or moral ill-effects whatever’.
1774 GOLDSM. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 192 The Babyrouessa, or *Indian Hog.
1783 ROWE Ulyss. Epil. 28 There are no *Indian Houses to drop in And fancy Stuffs and chuse a pretty Screen.
1765 CROKER, etc. Dict. Arts & Sc., *Indian Leaf, Malabathrum,..the leaf of a tree brought from the East-Indies. 1884 MILLER Plant-n., Cinnamomum Malabathrum, Indian, or Malabar, Leaf.
1787 Phil. Trans. LXXVII. 214 The *Indian lights are alternately exhibited.
1901 L. H. BAILEY Cycl. Amer. Hort. III. 1065/1 (caption) The *Indian Lotus, Nelumbium speciosum of the trade, but properly Nelumbo nucifera. 1963 W. BLUNT Of Flowers & Village 104 The seeds of the Indian Lotus ‘rattle in their sockets like teeth in the jaw~bone of a skull’.
1617 MINSHEU Ductor, *Indian Mouse. 1658 PHILLIPS, Indian Mouse, a little beast called in Greek Ichneumon.
1613 M. RIDLEY Magn. Bodies 67 Cuppes..of Ostridge-egges, *Indian-Nuts, Mace-wood, and Stone. 1653 H. MORE Antid. Ath. II. vii. (1712) 61 The famous Indian Nut-Tree, which at once almost affords all the Necessaries of Life.
1727-41 CHAMBERS Cycl. s.v. Ocean, Eastern, or *Indian Ocean, has its first name from its situation to the east; as its latter from India, the chief country it washes.
1626 L. OWEN Running Register 12 Constrained to anoint Pope Paulus Quintus in the fist with *Indian oyle, for his good-will.
1647 TRAPP Comm. Rom. xiii. 11 Whiles the Crocodile sleepeth with open mouth, the *Indian rat gets into his stomack, and eateth thorow his entrails.
1753 CHAMBERS Cycl. Supp. s.v. Red, *Indian Red, a name used by the colourmen and painters for a kind of purple ochre, brought from the island of Ormus in the Persian gulf. 1882 Garden 30 Sept. 289/1 The colour is a clear orange-red, or rather Indian red.
1760 J. LEE Introd. Bot. App. (1765) 316/1 *Indian Shot, Canna. 1794 MARTYN Rousseau's Bot. xi. 117 The seeds..are round, and very hard; whence this plant has the name of Indian shot. 1865 GOSSE Land & Sea (1874) 322 The noble, reed-like leaves of the Indian-shot throw up their scarlet spikes.
1884 E. MONEY Tea Controversy (ed. 2) 10 A pound of *Indian Tea of any grade will give considerably more infusions of a like strength than a similar pound of Chinese. 1893 Illustr. London News 11 Nov. 618/2 Indian tea shipping warehouses. c1938 Fortnum & Mason Price List 6 State whether China or Indian Tea is preferred. 1960 Good Housek. Cookery Bk. 451/2 Household teas,..are usually full-flavoured blended Indian teas. 1969 Times 13 Oct. (India Suppl.) p. x (Advt.), Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiris. Three of the greatest names in Indian Teas.
1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece II. ii. (ed. 3) 333 At most Fishing-Tackle Shops you may have *Indian Weed, which is best to make your lower Link of for either Trout, Bream or Carp.
1865 F. B. PALLISER Hist. Lace xxi. 250 There is also a good specimen of that description of drawn muslin lace, commonly known under the name of ‘*Indian work’, but which appears to have been made in various manners. 1882 CAULFEILD & SAWARD Dict. Needlework 157/2 Fig. 299 is of a later description of Drawn Work, and would be known as Indian Work, as its foundation is muslin. 1900 E. JACKSON Hist. Hand-Made Lace 150 Drawn-work..was known all over Europe as Hamburg Point, Indian work (when executed in muslin). 1920 A. K. ARTHUR Embroidery Bk. ix. 90 Some of the elaborately worked pieces of Indian and Persian work, where tinsel braids are freely employed, are things to marvel at.
1866-72 WATTS Dict. Chem. IV. 751 Purree serves for the preparation of *Indian yellow, a fine rich durable yellow colour much used both in oil and water-colour painting, and consisting mainly of euxanthate of magnesium. 1874 SCHORLEMMER Organic Chem. 414. 1875 Ure's Dict. Arts II. 890.
b. of America or the West Indies; chiefly of North America: Indian agent (see AGENT n. 4b); Indian apple, a name for the May-apple, Podophyllum peltatum (N.O. Ranunculaceæ); Indian arrow, the shrub Euonymus atropurpureus, also called Burning-bush; Indian awl (see quot. 1941); Indian balm, the purple Trillium or Birth-root (Trillium erectum or T. pendulum); Indian bean, a tree, Catalpa bignonioides, N.O Bignoniaceæ (Miller Plant-n. 1884); Indian blanket, orig. a blanket made by or for N. Amer. Indians, often used as a cloak; now also a blanket made in imitation of this; Indian bread, (a) a former name for the Cassava, or the bread made from it; (b) bread made of Indian corn; Indian bureau (or Bureau): in N. and S. America, a bureau concerned with the affairs of American Indians; spec. in the U.S., the Bureau of Indian Affairs; Indian chickweed, the Carpet-weed, Mollugo, N.O. Caryophyllaceæ (Treas. Bot. 1866); Indian chocolate, Geum rivale and other species, from the colour of their roots (Treas. Bot.); cf. CHOCOLATE-root; Indian cress, cresses, a name for the South American genus Tropæolum (now popularly called Nasturtium), from the flavour of the leaves; Indian cup, cups, the N. American Pitcher-plant (Sarracenia); Indian currant = coral-berry (CORAL n.1 9); Indian devil, a N. American name for either the wolverine or the cougar; Indian's dream, a N. American fern, Pellæa atropurpurea; Indian drug, applied to tobacco (obs.); Indian file, the same as single file, so called because the North American Indians usually march in this order; Indian gift (see quot.); so Indian giver, one who expects a gift in return; so Indian giving; Indian ginger, a name for Asarum canadense, from the flavour of its root (Treas. Bot.); Indian grass: see quots.; Indian harvest, the harvest of Indian corn; Indian hemp, the common name of Apocynum cannabinum, a plant having a fibrous integument used by the North American Indians for the same purposes as hemp (seealso a above); Indian hen, the American bittern, Botaurus mugitans or B. lentiginosus; Indian herb, applied to tobacco (obs.); Indian ladder, ‘a ladder made of a small tree by trimming it so as to leave only a few inches of each branch as a support for the foot’ (Bartlett Dict. Amer. 1860); Indian lettuce, a name for Frasera verticillata (N.O. Gentianaceæ); Indian mound [MOUND n.3 4e], in N. America, a mound or earthwork erected in former times by Indians as a burial place, fortification, etc.; Indian paint, a N. American perennial herb with reddish sap and thick red-tinted roots; Indian paint-brush, a herbaceous plant of the genus Castilleja; Indian path, a foot-path or track through the woods, such as is made by North American Indians; Indian pear N. Amer., a tree or shrub of the genus Amelanchier, or its edible fruit, a fleshy red or purple berry; Indian pepper, old name for Capsicum; Indian physic, name for Gillenia trifoliata, a N. American rosaceous plant with a medicinal root; Indian pipe, an American name for Monotropa uniflora, a leafless plant with a solitary drooping flower, of a uniform pinkish-white throughout, parasitic on the roots of trees (Treas. Bot. 1866); also Indian pipe-stem; Indian plantain, common name of the genus Cacalia of composite plants (Treas. Bot.); Indian poke, the White Hellebore of N. America, Veratrum viride (Webster, 1864); Indian pony, a type of pony descended from horses originally brought to America by Spanish colonists; Indian pudding, a pudding made with Indian meal, molasses, and suet, a frequent dish in New England; also, the same as hasty-pudding (Cent. Dict.); Indian purge, a species of Ipoma (?I. pandurata), the Mechameck of North American Indians; Indian reed, applied to a blow-pipe such as the N. American Indians use for shooting arrows; (see also in a above); Indian reservation, reserve (see RESERVATION 3b, RESERVE n. 5b); Indian rice, a North American aquatic grass, Zizania aquatica, or one of several similar plants resembling rice; Indian root, (a) Indian physic; (b) the American Spikenard, Aralia racemosa (Cent. Dict.); Indian shoe, (a) a moccasin; (b) an American name for the plant Cypripedium, also called Lady's Slipper, from the shape of the flower; Indian sign(s), a (usually faint) track or trail, etc., that reveals the presence of Indians; also a smoke-signal or other signal used by Indians; phr. to put (or have) the Indian sign on (someone) (see quot. 1944); Indian smoke, applied to tobacco smoke; Indian sun, old name of the Sunflower (Helianthus); Indian tea, any one of several N. American plants whose leaves are used to make a drink resembling tea; = Labrador tea; Indian tobacco, a name for Lobelia inflata; also applied to other plants; Indian turnip, (a) the tuberous root of Arisæma triphyllum (N.O. Araceæ), or the plant itself; (b) the edible tuberous root of a leguminous plant Psoralea esculenta (Bartlett Dict. Amer. 1860); Indian weed, (a) see quot. 1687; (b) an appellation of tobacco; Indian wheat, an old name for Indian corn.
1766 W. JOHNSON Let. 23 Jan. in R. Rogers Jrnls. (1883) 216 As Commandant and *Indian Agent, it will be extremely difficult to check him. 1816, 1901 [see AGENT n. 4b]. 1974 A. MACLEAN Breakheart Pass iii. 44, I asked the Governor here to appoint me Indian agent for the territory; I settle differences..allocate reservations, try and stop the traffic in guns and whisky.
1847 F. PARKMAN in Knickerbocker XXIX. 310 The rich flowers of the *Indian-apple were there in profusion. 1931 W. N. CLUTE Common Names of Plants 35 The May-apple (Podophyllum peltatum) was known to settlers as Indian apple, but it is really a berry.
1821 G. SIMPSON Jrnl. Occurrences in Athabasca Dept. (1938) 142 Awls, *Indian, doz. 1922 Beaver July 10/2 It requires but three tools to build a canoe: an axe, a ‘crooked knife’, and a square or Indian awl. 1941 Beaver Sept. 38 Indian awl, a square two-ended awl for bark, leather or wood.
1866 Treas. Bot. s.v. Trillium, The plant [T. erectum or pendulum] is also called *Indian Balm.
1843 J. TORREY Flora N.Y. II. 25 Catalpa. *Indian Bean... About habitations... The Catalpa is more esteemed for ornament than for use. 1933 [see cigar-tree]. 1969 T. H. EVERETT Living Trees of World 298/2 The Indian-bean has many more flowers in each cluster than the Western catalpa.
1764 in New Jersey Archives (1902) 1st Ser. XXIV. 350 There are a blue Great Coat, and an *Indian Blanket missing. 1782 Quebec Gaz. 19 Dec. 4/1 For Sale..A Large assortment..Indian blanket Rugs. 1807 Salmagundi 13 Feb. 49 The shawl..thrown over one shoulder, like an Indian blanket. 1927 W. CATHER Death comes for Archbishop I. iii. 31 The earth floor was covered with thick Indian blankets; two blankets, very old, and beautiful in design and colour, were hung on the walls like tapestries. 1962 J. BRAINE Life at Top xxvi. 278 There's a cigarette burn in my Indian blanket. 1966 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 27 Feb. 7/1 We smelled perfume and talcum from many Indian blankets.
1753 CHAMBERS Cycl. Supp., *Indian-Bread, see the article Cassada-Bread. 1828 WEBSTER, Indian Bread, a plant of the genus Jatropha. 1856 G. DAVIS Hist. Sk. Stockbridge & Southbr. (Mass.) 179 Skilled in..making rye and Indian bread.
1831 C. ATWATER Remarks Tour to Prairie du Chien 142 Taking advantage of frauds committed on the Indians, by persons connected with the *Indian bureau, the Factory system gave place to the present system. 1922 D. H. LAWRENCE Phoenix II (1968) 239 The Indian Bureau is supposed to do the cherishing. 1972 Buenos Aires Herald 2 Feb. 7/1 Officials of Brazil's Indian Bureau here believe that numerous small tribes of Indians living along the projected new highway have never seen an outsider.
1597 GERARDE Herbal II. xiv. (1623) 253 *Indian cresses. 1629 PARKINSON Paradisi v. 281 Nasturtium Indicum, by which name it is now generally..called, and we thereafter in English, Indian Cresses. 1883 Gd. Words Nov. 712/1 Dahlias, fuschias, morning glories and Indian cress.
1837 P. H. GOSSE in E. W. Gosse Life (1890) 108 That curious plant, the *Indian cup or pitcher plant (Sarracenia).
1785 H. MARSHALL Arbustrum Amer. 82 Lonicera Symphoricarpos. *Indian Currants, or St. Peter's Wort. This hath a shrubby stalk, which rises from four to five feet high. 1806 LEWIS & CLARK Orig. Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Expedition (1905) V. 327 Deep purple berry or the large Cherry of the Current Species which is common... The engagees call it the Indian Current. 1866 [see CURRANT 3]. 1948 South Sierran Feb. 2/2 ‘Indian currant’ was also in bloom.
1851 J. S. SPRINGER Forest Life & Forest Trees 66 A dangerous specimen of the feline species, known by woodsmen as the ‘*Indian devil’, had prowled from time immemorial. 1901 W. M. THOMPSON In Maine Woods 60 The cougar, or ‘Indian devil’, is sometimes seen. 1937 H. H. LANGTON in P. Campbell Trav. Interior Parts N. Amer. 71 The Wolverine..has long been extinct in the province [sc. Nova Scotia], where it is remembered as the ‘Injun devil’. 1965 Wildlife Rev. (Victoria, B.C.) Mar. 19 Cougars, also known as panthers, pumas, catamounts, mountain lions, and Indian devils, are large unspotted cats.
1630 J. TAYLOR (Water P.) Wks. (N.), His breath compounded of strong English beere, And th' *Indian drug, would suffer none come neere.
1758 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1881) XVIII. 179 They march'd in *Indian file. 1791 W. BARTRAM Carolina 440 Having ranged themselves in regular Indian file, the veteran in the van, and the younger in the rear. 1814 SCOTT Wav. xxxviii, The party..moved up the pathway in single or Indian file. 1841 CATLIN N. Amer. Ind. (1844) I. xxii. 150 At his heels in ‘Indian file’, i.e. single file, one following in another's tracks. 1873 G. M. GRANT Ocean to Ocean 189 As the line of march had to be in Indian file, we soon exchanged the undemonstrative ‘good-bye’ with him. 1922 Beaver Sept. 6/2 The long camp fire gave sufficient light to see the dancers, who followed one another in Indian file. 1971 Ceylon Times Weekender (Colombo) 3 Oct. 5/5 As the family came trotting along towards the crocodile in Indian file, the lean, rangy patriarch was in the lead.
1765 T. HUTCHINSON Hist. Mass. I. 469 note, An *Indian gift is a proverbial expression, signifying a present for which an equivalent return is expected. 1879 B. F. TAYLOR Summer-Savory xxvi. 207 She is glad it [sc. the check] is an ‘Indian gift’, that the conductor did not present it to her outright.
1860 BARTLETT Dict. Amer., *Indian giver, When an Indian gives any thing, he expects to receive an equivalent, or to have his gift returned. 1892 H. C. BOLTON in Jrnl. Amer. Folk-Lore V. 68 If an American child, who has made a small gift to a playmate is indiscreet enough to ask that the gift be returned, he (or she) is immediately accused of being an Indian-giver, or, as it is commonly pronounced Injun-giver. 1904 N.Y. Herald 10 Sept. 5 Later he took the position of the ‘Indian giver’ and wanted the money back. 1939 Time 23 Oct. 4/1 Call us Indian-giver. 1965 R. MANHEIM tr. Grass's Dog Yrs. I. 12 ‘You threw my knife.’ ‘It was my knife. Don't be an Indian giver.’ 1971 M. MCCARTHY Birds of America 29 He wanted the little violin which Hans, an Indian giver, took back to the store.
1837 W. IRVING Capt. Bonneville II. vi. 71 His experience in what is proverbially called ‘*Indian giving’ made him aware that a parting pledge was necessary on his own part. 1962 B. SPOCK Problems of Parents (1968) II. 50 The one-year-old who has yelled bloody murder during his physical examination may, ten minutes later..sweetly hand him a toy and then take it back. This latter trick may look like Indian giving.
1765 T. HUTCHINSON Hist. Mass. I. 480 note, The natural upland grass of the country commonly called *Indian grass, is poor fodder. 1884 MILLER Plant-n., Grass, Indian, Sorghum nutans and Molinia crulea.
1643 Mass. Col. Rec. (1853) II. 37 Two bigger Corts are to be kept there, the one between the English and *Indian harvest, and the other in the spring. 1676 in S. G. Drake Old Ind. Chron. (1867) 282 Our Indian Harvest is like to be very Fruitfull, that Grain is now sold at two Shillings Sixpence the Bushell. 1707 N. Hampsh. Prov. Papers (1868) II. 566 Which will last till the Indian Harvest is over.
1637 T. MORTON New Eng. Canaan (1883) 135 Matts..made of their *Indian hempe. 1794 S. WILLIAMS Vermont 71 The Indian Hemp (asclepias) may be woven into a fine, and strong thread. 1866 Treas. Bot. 80 From the fibrous bark of A[pocynum] cannabinum (commonly called Indian Hemp), and hypericifolium, the Indians prepare a substitute for hemp, of which they make twine, bags, fishing-nets, and lines.
1597 1st Pt. Return fr. Parnass. I. i. 447 Longe for a rewarde may your witts be warmde with the *Indian herbe.
1791 W. BARTRAM Carolina 247 Having provided ourselves with a long snagged sapling, called an *Indian ladder.
Ibid. 42 A very singular and elegant plant..called *Indian Lettuce, made its first appearance in these rich vales. 1884 MILLER Plant-n., Lettuce, Indian, Frasera verticillata.
1791 in Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. (1794) 1st Ser. III. 24 There is an *Indian mound, the base of which is about three hundred paces round, and rises in a conic form about one hundred feet. 1869 B. HARTE Luck of Roaring Camp 186 Cattle and sheep are gathered on Indian Mounds waiting the fate of their companions whose carcases drift by us. 1949 Illinois State Archaeol. Soc. Jrnl. Jan. 7/2 When the term, ‘Indian Mound’, is mentioned, one naturally thinks of a large ceremonial Mound which covers one to three acres of ground and is perhaps five or ten or even 20 feet in height. 1950 Caribbean Q. II. II. 24 Scientific excavation of the so-called Indian Mounds has brought to light masses of..pottery ware, celts.
1803 A. F. M. WILLICH Domestic Encycl. (Amer. ed.) IV. 442/1 Sanguinaria Canadensis, called commonly Puccoon, blood-wort, red-root, *Indian paint, turmeric. 1931 W. N. CLUTE Common Names of Plants 26 The bloodroot..is also called puccoon-root, Indian paint.
1892 Jrnl. Amer. Folk-Lore V. 101 Castilleia coccinea..*Indian paint-brush. 1923 ‘B. M. BOWER’ Parowan Bonanza ii. 21 He plucked a bright red ‘Indian paint brush’ from beside a rock. 1959 Calgary Herald 31 July 10/1 There is no finer feature of the autumn landscape in Alberta..than the roadside aster,..Indian paint brush and wild geranium. 1969 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 5 Oct. 7/1 Sometimes the red-orange of the Indian paint-brush was like a blanket spread beneath the pines.
1634 W. WOOD New Eng. Prosp. II. vii. 71 An *Indian path (which seldome is broader than a Cart's rutte). 1793 W. BENTLEY Diary 26 Aug. (1907) II. 51 An Indian path was visible through the town from the N.W. corner. 1794 A. THOMAS Newfoundland Jrnl. (1968) iv. 63, I shall resume my journey..endeavouring as well as I can to give you an idea of an Indian Path in Newfoundland. 1809 A. HENRY Trav. 180 Our only road was a foot-path, or such as, in America, is exclusively termed an Indian path. 1939 G. H. EVANS Pigwacket 3 To the consideration of this important gateway, through which the old Indian path entered Pigwacket, further attention will be directed.
1796 Descr. Prince Edward Island 5 A fruit in this Island, called the *Indian Pear, is very delicious. 1856 W. E. CORMACK Narr. Journey across Newfoundland (1874) 19 On the skirts of the forest, and of the marshes, are found..Indian pear [etc.]. 1873 G. M. GRANT Ocean to Ocean 156 The sasketoon are simply what are known in Nova Scotia as ‘Indian pears’. 1956 T. H. RADDALL Wings of Night 12 Then came the long reach of scrub woods, wire birch and poplar mostly, with blossoming clumps of Indian pear, like patches of snow on the slopes.
1578 LYTE Dodoens V. lxix. 634 The *Indian Pepper hath square stalkes. 1596 RALEIGH Discov. Guiana (1887) 141 All places yield abundance of all sorts of gums, of Indian pepper.
1788 M. CUTLER in Life, etc. (1888) II. 285 A plant called *Indian Physic, or Indian Root; it blossoms, I believe, early in the year, for the seed was ripe in August. 1823 J. D. HUNTER Captiv. N. Amer. 445 A warm infusion of the Indian physic, or gillenia trifoliata.
1822 A. EATON Man. Bot. (ed. 3) 357 Monotropa uniflora, birds nest, *indian-pipe. 1884 ‘C. E. CRADDOCK’ In Tennessee Mts. I. 60 The ashy Indian pipes silvered the roots of the trees. 1962 Maclean's Mag. 10 Mar. 17/1 It was a palely sprouting parasite called Indian pipe, or corpse plant, which extrudes almost overnight from rotting compost and lives only briefly.
1870 Amer. Naturalist III. 6 The *Indian Pipestem will be found rarely in low woods.
1758 P. STEVENS Jrnl. 13 July in N. D. Mereness Trav. Amer. Colonies (1916) 314 He is given us for an *Indian pony in his place. 1865 Nor'Wester (Red River Settlement) 21 Sept. 2/3 Our hardy Indian ponies found many purchasers at good prices. 1869 [see BRONCO a]. 1965 D. M. GOODALL Horses of World 211 The descendants of these [Spanish] horses, known as Mustangs, migrated through Mexico to the United States, scattering far west and north-west. Some were captured by the Indians and subsequently became Indian ponies.
1771 J. ADAMS Diary 10 June, Wks. 1850 II. 276 Just as they had got their *Indian pudding and their pork and greens upon the table. 1809 W. IRVING Knickerb. III. i. (1820) 159 He was making his breakfast from a prodigious earthen dish, filled with milk and Indian pudding. 1888 J. Q. BITTINGER Hist. Haverhill (N. Hampsh.) 358 The Indian pudding was a great favorite, if we may judge from the frequency with which it made its appearance at meal time.
1687 J. CLAYTON Virginia in Phil. Trans. XLI. 150 There is another Herb, which they call the *Indian Purge..It bears yellow Berries round about the Joints: They only make use of the Root of this Plant.
1877 LANIER Poems, Hard Times Elfland 88 Bows, arrows, cannon, *Indian reeds.
1819 D. THOMAS Trav. Western Country 12 This tract is an *Indian reservation. 1949 Kansas Hist. Q. Feb. 2 They learned that Council Grove was situated on an Indian reservation and was not available for settlement. 1954 H. EVANS Mist on River 43 She said that this fall or next..she would try to get him into an Indian reservation school.
1792 in Rep. Bureau Arch. Ontario (1905) III. 215 Every farm of good land, in that part of the Country, is comprehended within the *Indian reserve. 1818 F. HALL Trav. Canada & U.S. 131 The river Credit is an Indian reserve, well stocked with salmon. a1843 [see RESERVE n. 5b attrib.]. 1958 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. 18 June 31/7 Conditions on the two Indian reserves have improved greatly.
1822 Minutes of Council, N. Dept. of Rupert's Land, in Publ. Hudson's Bay Rec. Soc. (1940) III. 22 All the *Indian rice and corn he may collect. 1872 SCHELE DE VERE Americanisms 409 The Indians of the Northern regions..depend largely upon..this perennial plant, from whence it is also known as Indian rice. 1933 E. C. JAEGER California Deserts xiii. 165 Indian rice (Oryzopsis hymenoides) is frequent in porous soils, particularly on blown sand.
1775 A. ADAMS in J. Adams' Fam. Lett. (1876) 96, I should be glad of one ounce of *Indian root.
1704 N. Hampsh. Prov. Papers (1868) II. 422 For entertaining an Express, and some friend Indians about making *Indian Shoes. 1758 in G. Sheldon Hist. Deerfield, Mass. (1895) I. 656 His scoutsmen are destitute of Indian shoes.
1805 P. GASS Jrnl. 30 May (1807) 93 We see a great many fresh *Indian tracks or signs as we pass along. 1854 J. R. BARTLETT Pers. Narr. Explor. Texas I. iv. 95 They had seen ‘Indian sign’, and pointed out..the well-known Indian signal of a puff of smoke suddenly rising from the earth. 1866 Rep. Indian Affairs (U.S.) 188 On the 19th, proceeding again to the Malheur river, but found no fresh Indian signs. 1873 J. H. BEADLE Undevel. West xxxiv. 738, I rode around our camp, a circle of about six miles, looking for Indian signs. 1910 R. GRAU Business Man in Amusement World 97 He has also been careful to protect himself against ‘the Indian Sign’. 1912 McClure's Mag. XXXIX. 235/1 He sure put the Indian sign on Tommy Ryan that time. 1916 Boy Scouts' Year Bk. (N.Y.) 93/2 He had proved that the Indian sign wasn't infallible... After all, then, the Indian sign was a kind of superstition. a1918 G. STUART 40 Yrs. on Frontier (1925) I. 115 Plenty of Indian signs, saw signal fires on the mountains to westward. 1929 Bookman Sept. 62/2 Owen Johnson always has had what is known as the ‘Indian Sign’ on me. I never won a bet from him and never will. 1944 R. F. ADAMS Western Words (1945) 83/1 To put the Indian sign on someone meant to hex or curse him with some kind of witchcraft, also to get him where you want him. 1948 V. PALMER Golconda x. 79 What silly notions about ourselves we can coddle! I believe the old boy's put the Indian sign on you, Neda. 1973 Listener 5 June 6/3 We were riding very high in terms of our legislative programme. We had the Indian sign on the Congress, so to speak.
1626 L. OWEN Running Register 50 They spend it all most lewdly in good liquor and *Indian smoake. 1645 G. DANIEL Poems Wks. 1878 II. 26 Keep the Round of good Societie, In high-pris'd Indian Smoke.
1578 LYTE Dodoens II. xxxiv. 191 The *Indian Sunne, or the golden floure of Perrowe is a plante of such stature and talnesse that..it groweth to the length of thirtene or fouretenne foote.
1709 J. LAWSON New Voy. Carolina 91 This plant [sc. Yaupon] is the *Indian Tea, us'd and approv'd by all the Savages on the Coast of Carolina. 1771 G. CARTWRIGHT Jrnl. 6 Mar. (1792) I. 100 As I judged, that Indian tea was of the same nature with the herbs which are recommended by that author [sc. Dr. Brookes], I had some gathered from under the snow in the woods, and gave her a pint of the strong infusion of that plant sweetened with sugar. 1794 A. THOMAS Newfoundland Jrnl. (1968) iv. 71, I breakfasted with Mrs Harty on Indian Tea, the growth of Newfoundland. 1925 A. HEMING Living Forest 131 The old woodsman infused some of the Indian tea he had gathered. 1938 Beaver June 23/1 Light springing feet of youths and maidens would make little impression on the tough bushes of Indian Tea.
a1618 *Indian tobacco [see sense 2]. 1851 BALFOUR Man. Bot. §924 Lobelia inflata, Indian Tobacco..is used medicinally as a sedative, expectorant, and anti~spasmodic. 1872 SCHELE DE VERE Americanisms 415 Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata), occasionally used instead of tobacco by virtue of its acrid leaves. 1950 C. P. LYONS Milestones on Mighty Fraser 89 Indian tobacco..was used by the Thompson Indians from time immemorial.
1806 Deb. Congress U.S. 19 Feb. 1142 *Indian turnip, wild carrot, wild onion. 1856 [see TURNIP n. 2b]. 1866 Treas. Bot. 90 The Dragon-root, or Indian turnip of America, is the tuber of A[risæma] atrorubens, which furnishes a kind of starch. Ibid. 935 P[soralea] esculenta is a native of Wisconsin.. and other parts of North-west America, where its tuberous roots, known as Indian or Prairie turnips..form a great part of the food of the indigenous population. 1873 J. MILLER Life amongst Modocs x. 128 He [sc. winter] cut down the banners of the spring that night, lamb-tongue, Indian turnip and catella. 1894 [see TURNIP n. 2b]. 1911 G. S. PORTER Harvester xix. 459 He..brought her samples of ginger leaves, Indian hemp, queen-of-the-meadow, cone-flower, burdock, baneberry, Indian turnip, [etc.]. 1949 Nature Mag. Apr. 178 A few of these, like Indian turnip or jack-in-the-pulpit, cowslip and milkweed, may be considered mildly inedible.
1687 J. CLAYTON Virginia in Phil. Trans. XLI. 145 They have..various very good Wound-herbs, as an Herb commonly called *Indian-weed, which perhaps may be referred to the Valerians. 1889 FARMER Americanisms, Indian weed, tobacco.
1578 LYTE Dodoens IV. x. 464 They do now call this grayne..in English Turkish Corne, or *Indian wheate. 1595 DRAKE Voy. (Hakluyt Soc.) 25 An iland, called St. Crusado,..where they had store of hens and Indian wheate for nine weekes. 1634 Relat. Ld. Baltimore's Plant. (1865) 21 We haue planted since wee came, as much Maize (or Indian Wheate) as will suffice..much more company than we haue. 1720 DE FOE Capt. Singleton ix. (1840) 163 We found some maize, or Indian wheat, which the negro-women planted.
c. For Indian arrowroot, cucumber, currant, jalap, lake, millet, ochre, ox, pink, ringworm, steel, etc. see the ns. See also INDIAN CORN, FIG, INK, SUMMER, in their places as main words: Indian rubber: see INDIA RUBBER. d. Chess. (i) Indian problem (see quots. 1878). Also ellipt.
1846 Chess Player's Chron. 96 We now publish the names of those amateurs who have sent us the correct solution of our Indian problem. 1878 S. LOYD Chess Strategy 96 Its entire difficulty consists in the skill with which the fact of its being an Indian is concealed. Ibid. 97 The theme of the Indian problem culminates in a stale-mating position, which has been anticipated by preparing an ambush for allowing the defence a move that may expose him to a discovered mate. Ibid. 100 The old Indian problem... The leading feature of the problem does not consist in the discovered check, but in the unexpected and apparently useless withdrawal of the two pieces to a remote quarter of the board, the one intersecting the protection of the other so as to allow the adverse King a move. 1913 A. C. WHITE Sam Loyd 287 Two of Loyd's best Indians are shown in Nos. 402 and 403.
(ii) Used to denote openings in which a player seeks to control the centre of the board with knights, fianchettoed bishops, etc., rather than by advancing his centre pawns. Now esp. Indian defence, where Black plays thus; also ellipt.
King's (or Queen's) Indian defence: an Indian defence in which Black's king's (or queen's) bishop is fianchettoed. See also NIMZO-INDIAN a.
1896 H. F. CHESHIRE Hastings Chess Tournament 1895 369 Openings,..Hungarian,..Indian,..King's Gambits. 1899 E. E. CUNNINGTON Mod. Chess Primer ix. 181 Or Black may play the ‘Indian Defence’. 1925 Chess Budget I. 117/2 A third case was in a small club tournament with the new form of Indian defence. 1929 Chess Amateur XXIII. 202/1 Indian Defence. Played recently in the semi-final of the Three Counties' Championship Tournament. 1942 H. GOLOMBEK 50 Great Games Mod. Chess 67/1 (heading) Queen's Pawn, Queen's Indian Defence. 1950 Hoyle's Games Modernized (ed. 20) IV. 410 The Indian Defences (those in which Black does not play P-Q4 at an early stage). Ibid. 411 The Catalan systema modern combination of the King's Indian and Queen's gambit. 1958 Listener 13 Nov. 803/3 If you favour complications, you are most likely to be suited by the queen's pawn opening and by the Sicilian and King's Indian Defences. 1964 I. A. HOROWITZ Chess Openings 638 King's Indian Defense... Introduced in the Leipzig tournament of 1879.
B. n.
1. a. A member of any of the native races of India or the East Indies; an East Indian. In early use sometimes spec. (like Gr. ) applied to an elephant-driver or mahout: cf. Yule 331/2, 333/2. Now spec. (before 1947) a native or inhabitant of the Indian sub-continent and (after 1947) of the Republic of India.
1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. XVIII. xlii. (W. de W.) 804 Elyphauntes ben full peryllous in time of generacion and namely the wilde eliphauntes..and therefore the Yndeens [Bodl. MS. Indes] hyde theyr tame female eliphauntys. 1548 HALL Chron., Hen. VIII, 125 You Portyngales..to the Indyans you cary nothyng but wyne, whiche is hurt to all countreys. 1611 BIBLE 1 Macc. vi. 37 There were also vpon euery one [elephant] two and thirtie strong men that fought vpon them, besides the Indian that ruled him. 1663 BUTLER Hud. I. ii. 587 As Indians with a female Tame Elephant inveigle the male. 1705 (title) The Customs of the East Indians, with those of the Jews and other ancient People. 1794 S. WILLIAMS Vermont 385 A copper colour denotes the complexion of the Indians of Asia. 1802 BARTOLOMEO Voy. E. Indies I. vii, The Indians consider it indecent. 1885 H. J. S. COTTON New India ii. 11 The attitude of Englishmen to Indians is not of a character to inspire confidence. 1896 in Macm. Mag. Sept. (1906) 820 Purely Indian-raised troops. 1912 E. M. FORSTER Let. 25 Dec. in Hill of Devi (1953) 17 In the evening we went to the Tennis Cluball Indiansand drove back through the tidy little town. 1923 Glasgow Herald 20 Feb. 6 The possible future absorption by Indians of the bulk of Indian Army commissions and military appointments. 1946 J. H. HUTTON Caste in India iii. 27 It is the cultivated and educated Bengali who has been probably more than any other Indian the interpreter of the Englishman to the Indian. 1954 Chambers's Encycl. World Survey 210/1 Indians have long shown a genuine flair for the parliamentary system of government. 1965 N. C. CHAUDHURI Continent of Circe iv. 89 No sensible Indian will have a moment's hesitation in saying which is preferable. 1971 M. EDWARDES Nehru xx. 328 The machinery that was to move Lal Bahadur Shastri, a very different sort of Indian, into the office of Prime Minister had already been put in gear.
b. A European, esp. an Englishman, who resides or has resided in India; an Anglo-Indian. Chiefly in Old Indian, returned Indian, and the like.
1751 ELIZA HEYWOOD Hist. Betsy Thoughtless III. 254 This young Indian. 1816 ELPHINSTONE in Sir T. E. Colebrooke Life (1884) I. 367 (Y.) Our best Indians. In the idleness and obscurity of home they look back with fondness to the country where they have been useful and distinguished. 1829 Bengalee 360 A friendliness..to be met with among old Indians. Ibid. 450 Bath, and Cheltenham..At the latter two, so many returned Indians are in the habit of congregating. 1884 Contemp. Rev. Feb. 216 We all know that ‘advice’ is plentiful enough, even the advice of ‘old Indians’.
c. One of the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippine Islands; applied esp. to one who has been converted to Christianity.
1697 W. DAMPIER New Voy. round World xi. 307 He fell in with these Philippine Islands, and anchored at Luconia; where he warr'd with the native Indians, to bring them in obedience to his master the king of Spain. 1817 J. MCLEOD Narr. Voy. H.M.S. Alceste Yellow Sea 171 The religion of the Indians under the immediate control of the Spaniards is Christianity; but at Mindanao and the other islands..it is said to be a mixture of Mahomedanism with..Pagan rites. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 752/1 Cigars they [sc. the Negritos of the Philippines] often smoke with the burning end between the teetha practice occasionally observed among the civilized Indians. 1905 F. W. ATKINSON Philippine Islands x. 264 The Spaniards used the term Indian in speaking collectively of these seven Christian tribes and the word Filipino in speaking of any one born in the Islands without distinction as to religious belief. 1967 D. MANNIX Sporting Chance ii. 35 This outfit was made by the Zubanoan Indians who live in the mountains of Mindanao. 1968 R. NELSON Philippines ii. 31 The majority of the people, called Indians by the Spanish, had an olive complexion.
d. A member of one of the indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand. Obs.
1769 J. BANKS Jrnl. 21 Oct. (1896) 191 We applied to our friends the Indians [sc. Maoris] for a passage in one of their canoes. 1770 Ibid. 28 Apr. 264 During this time, a few of the Indians [sc. Australian Aboriginals]..remained on the rocks opposite the ship, threatening and menacing with their pikes and swords. 1825 B. FIELD Geogr. Mem. New South Wales 437 Some of the Indians have also seriously applied to be allowed convict-labourers..till the maize and cabbage that have been planted to their hands are fit to gather. 1830 A. F. GARDINER Friend of Australia xiii. 244 It is the observation of some writers, that the system pursued in Australia for educating the children of the Indians, is not attended with success.
2. a. A member of any of the aboriginal races of America or the West Indies; an American Indian. Also, examples of American Indian. Cf. AMERIND, AMERINDIAN ns.
The Eskimo, in the extreme north, are usually excluded from the term; as are sometimes the Patagonians and Fuegians in the extreme south.
1553 EDEN Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 32 They saw certayn Indians gatheringe shel fyshes by the sea bankes. 1607-12 BACON Ess., Atheism (Arb.) 334 The Indians of the West have names for theire particuler Godes, thoughe they have noe one name for God. 1632 MASSINGER City Madam III. iii, Receive these Indians, lately sent him from Virginia, into your house. 1662 STILLINGFL. Orig. Sacr. III. iv. §8 The tradition of the Flood is among the Indians, both in New France, Peru, and other parts. 1736 WESLEY Let. xxviii. Wks. XII, They have sent up such traders, both to the Creek and Chicasaw Indians. 1818 JAS. MILL Brit. India (1826) I. 397 note, The Indians of Peru. 1824 BULLOCK Six Months Mexico 78 As we approached Puebla, we met several groups of Indians. 1846 J. HALL Wilderness & War Path 1 The life of the American Indian is not so destitute of the interest created by variety of incident, as might be supposed by a casual observation of the habits of this singular race. 1858 LONGFELLOW M. Standish I. 50 Now we are ready, I think, for any assault of the Indians. 1879 G. C. HARLAN Eyesight vi. 78 No one ever heard of a short-sighted Indian. 1926 S. G. INMAN Probl. in Pan Americanism ii. 68 The visitor to South America will see nothing more pitiful than the Indians of Peru and Bolivia, descendents of great civilizations now forgotten. 1931 F. J. STIMSON My United States xviii. 187 Harvard College was founded in 1636 to teach the Puritans to be preachers and to teach the Indians to be Christians. 1933 Recent Social Trends in U.S. (President's Res. Comm. Social Trends) I. xi. 590 Doubts as to the educability of the Indian have been dispelled by the increasing number of those creditably completing college courses and by the measures of mental tests which indicate intelligence of a high rank. 1962 Canada Month May 29 North American Indians number more than 500,000: 180,000 in Canada, more than half of whom live in B.C., Saskatchewan, and Ontario, and 350,000 in the U.S. 1963 Amer. Speech XXXVIII. 271 The military-like terms might have been introduced by American Indians who went to Haskell after completing their compulsory military service. 1965 J. BALDWIN in Penguin Dict. Mod. Quots. (1971) 10/2 It is a great shock at the age of five or six to find that in a world of Gary Coopers you are the Indian. 1965 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 May 3/4 Those whose names are in a register kept by the federal Indian Affairs Branch are officially Indians; others are not... The Indians have special rights. 1971 D. HEFFRON Nice Fire & Some Moonpennies i. 10 Hey ya know, you look like a real Indian with that head-band, you know that? 1971 Times 23 Aug. 10/3 In every measurable way Indians are at the bottom of the great American pile. Ibid. 10/6 The modern plight of the American Indian is almost entirely traceable to treachery of the white man.
b. Red Indian: one of the aboriginal race of North America; so called from the coppery colour of their skin; also, colloq., red man, redskin.
Still used commonly outside N. Amer. but rarely in the U.S.A. and Canada. The Dict. of Canadianisms (1967) labels the use ‘erroneous’ exc. in respect of the extinct Beothuk people in Newfoundland. The usual term in N. Amer. is ‘Indian’.
1831 CARLYLE Sart. Res. III. vii, A red Indian, hunting by Lake Winnipic. 1887 A. LANG Bks. & Bookmen 53 Japanese, Australians, Red Indians, and other distant peoples. 1891 Trans. R. Soc. Canada IX. II. 124 The name Red Indians..is the translation of the Micmac name for them, Maquajik, which means redmen or red people. 1897 E. R. YOUNG On Indian Trail 11 Romantic missionary work among the red Indians will soon be a thing of the past. 1903 G. B. SHAW Revolutionist's Handbk. viii, in Man & Superman 212 Museums are set up throughout the country to encourage little children and elderly gentlemen to make collections of corpses preserved in alcohol, and to steal birds' eggs and keep them as the red Indian used to keep scalps. 1922 JOYCE Ulysses 760, I hope he hasnt long greasy hair hanging into his eyes or standing up like a red Indian. 1957 Chronicle-Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia) 16 Aug. 29/8 Since then I have always liked the Red Indians. 1964 Newfoundland Q. Summer 12/3 The Journal takes us back to pioneer days in Labrador and Newfoundland to a day when the wigwams of the Red Indians could be seen on the shores of Exploits Bay. 1973 Times 5 June 8/7 There he isa voluminously white-clad figure with head~dress..and a face..which might be that of a Red Indian Chief.
c. One of the ‘Indians’ in a child's game. Cf. COW-BOY 3d.
1883 W. W. NEWELL Games & Songs Amer. Children i. 26 The players were divided into Indians and hunters, the former uttering their war-cry... The game ended with the extermination of one party or the other. 1941 in R. D. Abrahams Jump-Rope Rhymes (1969) 148 One little, two little, three little Indians. Four little, five little, six little Indians, etc. 1969 I. & P. OPIE Children's Games v. 181 The attraction of ‘Stalking’ (‘Gang Stalking’, ‘Shadowing’, ‘Indians’) is that the hunters can become the hunted.
3. Short for Indian corn.
1651 Rec. Dedham (Mass.) (1892) III. 187 To be paid..halfe in Indian corne, the Indian when the said Daniell shall demaund. 1664 Plymouth Col. Rec. (1855) IV. 72 The barly att four shillings..and the Indian att three shillings the bushell. 1860 BARTLETT Dict. Amer. 215 A mixture of the flour of wheat and maize is called wheat and Indian.
4. Any one of the languages spoken by American Indians.
1714 S. SEWALL Diary 6 Apr. (1879) II. 433 Mr. Mayhew writes a Letter in Indian to Saul. 1857 THOREAU Maine W. (1894) 285 Our Indian knew one of them, and fell into conversation with him in Indian. 1894 M. EELLS Father Eells 91 A school was also kept in Indian, the lessons being prepared on paper, hung up on the side of the house and read and recited. 1946 T. M. STANWELL-FLETCHER Driftwood Valley 114 Be that as it may, I have pronounced and spelled it, just as we do all the various other localities, as it sounds to us in Indian. 1958 Camsell Arrow (Edmonton, Alberta) Jan.-Feb. 1 Although [the sisters] are French and the children speak Indian, English is the language of the school.
5. Name of a constellation (Indus) lying between Sagittarius and the south pole.
1674 MOXON Tutor Astron. I. iii. §10 (ed. 3) 19 Twelve Constellations..posited about the South Pole..2 The Phenix, 3 The Indian, 4 The Peacock. 1860 LOCKYER Guillemin's Heavens (ed. 3) 344 The constellation of the Indian.
6. Comb., as Indian-like adj. and adv.
a1765 YOUNG Wks. (1767) III. 95 (Jod.) ‘Behold the Sun!’ and, Indianlike, adore. 1851 MAYNE REID Scalp Hunt. ii. 16 Their erect, Indian-like carriage in the streets. 1869 T. W. HIGGINSON Army Life (1870) 56 An Indian-like knowledge of the country.
7. Short for Indian tea (see sense 4a above).
1748 M. W. MONTAGU Let. 17 July (1966) II. 407, I have planted a great deal [of tea] in my Garden, which..has succeeded very well. I cannot say it is as strong as the Indian, but has the advantage of being Fresher and at least unmix'd. 1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 1 Tea..[Blend] Congou and Indian. 1933 E. A. ROBERTSON Ordinary Families xiii. 278, I ordered fresh tea..and pressed the visitor to make up her mind..whether she preferred Indian or China. 1938 [see CHINA1 6]. 1958 J. CANNAN And be a Villain i. 39 ‘Couldn't you find the Earl Grey?’.. Primrose said, ‘Indian's better for pulling you together.’ 1968 G. BUTLER Coffin Following ix. 198 You will take tea? Will you have Indian or China?
DRAFT ADDITIONS JUNE 2002
Indian, adj. and n.
B. n.
Brit. colloq. (a) A meal served at an Indian restaurant; (also) a takeaway Indian meal; (b) a restaurant serving Indian food.
1982 P. REDMOND Brookside (Mersey TV shooting script) Episode 4. 60 C'mon, we're going out for an Indian. 1988 C. KEATLEY My Mother said I never Should (1994) II. 64 We're getting a take-out Indian. There's a good place on the Stockport Road. 1995 D. MCLEAN Bunker Man 183 At Grant's party, at the Indian, the way you just walked out! 1998 A. WARNER Sopranos 164 We've got Light of India and yon Bamboo place..but when ya grow up in the villages, well when are you goan have an Indian? 2002 Time Out 2 Jan. 47/2 The basement dining room aims to rival London's finest Indians with a set dinner menu costing £39 per head.
A. adj.
Indian burn n. Children's slang (chiefly U.S.) = Chinese burn n. at CHINESE adj. and n. Additions.
1954 S. FLEISHER Lion & Honeycomb xxi. 271 He twisted Otto's wrist in an *Indian burn. 1963 D. DI PRIMA in L. Jones Moderns 322 He takes her wrist, and gives her an indian burn. 1997 M. GROENING et al. Simpsons: Compl. Guide 188/4 Indian burns are not our cultural heritage.
In message <D6C12934A3DA4D93B60AE2DB05827289@acera07ead0d35> The Black and Asian Studies Association <[log in to unmask]> writes:
> Miranda's citation of Herodotus is interesting. However how many people acting as parish clerks would have known that in the 17th-early 19thCs. What was the popular geographic knowledge of the period? Can historical geographers help here?
>
> Grosse's 1811 Vulgar Dictionary has lots of useages of 'black' but none relevant. No uses re-Indian.
>
> Re-negro:
>
> 'NEGROE. A black-a-moor: figuratively used for a slave.
> I'll be no man's negro; I will be no man's slave.
>
> NEGROE'S HEADS. Brown leaves delivered to the ships in
> ordinary.'
>
> plus (excuse the vulgarities)
>
> 'BUMBO. Brandy, water, and sugar; also the negro name for
> the private parts of a woman.'
>
> 'CHIMNEY CHOPS. An abusive appellation for a negro.'
>
> 'DINGEY CHRISTIAN. A mulatto; or any one who has, as the
> West-Indian term is, a lick of the tar-brush, that is, some
> negro blood in him.'
>
> 'KICKERAPOO. Dead. NEGRO WORD.'
>
> 'NO CATCHY NO HAVY. If I am not caught, I cannot be hurt.
> Negro saying.'
>
> 'PICKANINY. A young child, an infant. NEGRO TERM.'
>
> 'SCAVEY. Sense, knowledge. "Massa, me no scavey;"
> master, I don't know (NEGRO LANGUAGE) perhaps from the
> French SCAVOIR.'
>
> 'SNOWBALL. A jeering appellation for a negro.'
>
> In view of my work in the North East these two are particularly interesting:
>
> 'CRIMP. A broker or factor, as a coal crimp, who disposes
> of the cargoes of the Newcastle coal ships; also persons
> employed to trapan or kidnap recruits for the East Indian
> and African companies. To crimp, or play crimp; to
> play foul or booty: also a cruel manner of cutting up fish
> alive, practised by the London fishmongers, in order to
> make it eat firm; cod, and other crimped fish, being a
> favourite dish among voluptuaries and epicures.'
>
> 'GINGERBREAD WORK. Gilding and carving: these terms
> are particularly applied by seamen on board Newcastle
> colliers, to the decorations of the sterns and quarters of
> West-Indiamen, which they have the greatest joy in defacing.'
>
> Linked to the first is this one:
>
> 'LOCK UP HOUSE. A spunging house; a public house kept
> by sheriff's officers, to which they convey the persons they
> have arrested, where they practise every species of
> imposition and extortion with impunity. Also houses kept
> by agents or crimps, who enlist, or rather trepan, men to
> serve the East India or African company as soldiers.'
>
> Re-Africans:
>
> 'TO PALAVER. To flatter: originally an African word for a
> treaty, talk, or conference.'
>
> Here's an interesting use of 'traveller':
>
> 'TRAVELLER. To tip the traveller; to tell wonderful
> stories, to romance.'
>
> Not relevant but I like this one:
>
> 'STEWED QUAKER. Burnt rum, with a piece of butter: an
> American remedy for a cold.'
>
> Sean
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> Sean Creighton
> Agenda Services: Development & Heritage Projects
> History & Social Action Publications
> 020 8640 2014
> www.seancreighton.co.uk
> Website updated August, inc. PDF of Friendly Societies Research Group Newsletter 16 - July 2008
--
Miranda Kaufmann
Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP
mob: 07855 792 885
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