Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Indian \In"di*an\ (?; 277), a. [From India, and this fr. Indus,
   the name of a river in Asia, L. Indus, Gr. ?, OPers. Hindu,
   name of the land on the Indus, Skr. sindhu river, the Indus.
   Cf. {Hindoo}.]
   1. Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies,
      or, sometimes, to the West Indies.

   2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of
      America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.

   3. Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian
      meal, Indian bread, and the like. [U.S.]

   {Indian} bay (Bot.), a lauraceous tree ({Persea Indica}).

   {Indian bean} (Bot.), a name of the catalpa.

   {Indian berry}. (Bot.) Same as {Cocculus indicus}.

   {Indian bread}. (Bot.) Same as {Cassava}.

   {Indian club}, a wooden club, which is swung by the hand for
      gymnastic exercise.

   {Indian cordage}, cordage made of the fibers of cocoanut
      husk.

   {Indian corn} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Zea} ({Z. Mays});
      the maize, a native of America. See {Corn}, and {Maize}.
      

   {Indian cress} (Bot.), nasturtium. See {Nasturtium}, 2.

   {Indian cucumber} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Medeola} ({M.
      Virginica}), a common in woods in the United States. The
      white rootstock has a taste like cucumbers.

   {Indian currant} (Bot.), a plant of the genus
      {Symphoricarpus} ({S. vulgaris}), bearing small red
      berries.

   {Indian dye}, the puccoon.

   {Indian fig}. (Bot.)
      (a) The banyan. See {Banyan}.
      (b) The prickly pear.

   {Indian file}, single file; arrangement of persons in a row
      following one after another, the usual way among Indians
      of traversing woods, especially when on the war path.

   {Indian fire}, a pyrotechnic composition of sulphur, niter,
      and realgar, burning with a brilliant white light.

   {Indian grass} (Bot.), a coarse, high grass ({Chrysopogon
      nutans}), common in the southern portions of the United
      States; wood grass. --Gray.

   {Indian hemp}. (Bot.)
      (a) A plant of the genus {Apocynum} ({A. cannabinum}),
          having a milky juice, and a tough, fibrous bark,
          whence the name. The root it used in medicine and is
          both emetic and cathartic in properties.
      (b) The variety of common hemp ({Cannabis Indica}), from
          which hasheesh is obtained.

   {Indian mallow} (Bot.), the velvet leaf ({Abutilon
      Avicenn[ae]}). See {Abutilon}.

   {Indian meal}, ground corn or maize. [U.S.]

   {Indian millet} (Bot.), a tall annual grass ({Sorghum
      vulgare}), having many varieties, among which are broom
      corn, Guinea corn, durra, and the Chinese sugar cane. It
      is called also {Guinea corn}. See {Durra}.

   {Indian ox} (Zo["o]l.), the zebu.

   {Indian paint}. See {Bloodroot}.

   {Indian paper}. See {India paper}, under {India}.

   {Indian physic} (Bot.), a plant of two species of the genus
      {Gillenia} ({G. trifoliata}, and {G. stipulacea}), common
      in the United States, the roots of which are used in
      medicine as a mild emetic; -- called also {American
      ipecac}, and {bowman's root}. --Gray.

   {Indian pink}. (Bot.)
      (a) The Cypress vine ({Ipom[oe]a Quamoclit}); -- so called
          in the West Indies.
      (b) See {China pink}, under {China}.

   {Indian pipe} (Bot.), a low, fleshy herb ({Monotropa
      uniflora}), growing in clusters in dark woods, and having
      scalelike leaves, and a solitary nodding flower. The whole
      plant is waxy white, but turns black in drying.

   {Indian plantain} (Bot.), a name given to several species of
      the genus {Cacalia}, tall herbs with composite white
      flowers, common through the United States in rich woods.
      --Gray.

   {Indian poke} (Bot.), a plant usually known as the {white
      hellebore} ({Veratrum viride}).

   {Indian pudding}, a pudding of which the chief ingredients
      are Indian meal, milk, and molasses.

   {Indian purple}.
      (a) A dull purple color.
      (b) The pigment of the same name, intensely blue and
          black.

   {Indian red}.
      (a) A purplish red earth or pigment composed of a silicate
          of iron and alumina, with magnesia. It comes from the
          Persian Gulf. Called also {Persian red}.
      (b) See {Almagra}.

   {Indian rice} (Bot.), a reedlike water grass. See {Rice}.

   {Indian shot} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Canna} ({C.
      Indica}). The hard black seeds are as large as swan shot.
      See {Canna}.

   {Indian summer}, in the United States, a period of warm and
      pleasant weather occurring late in autumn. See under
      {Summer}.

   {Indian tobacco} (Bot.), a species of {Lobelia}. See
      {Lobelia}.

   {Indian turnip} (Bot.), an American plant of the genus
      {Aris[ae]ma}. {A. triphyllum} has a wrinkled farinaceous
      root resembling a small turnip, but with a very acrid
      juice. See {Jack in the Pulpit}, and {Wake-robin}.

   {Indian wheat}, maize or Indian corn.

   {Indian yellow}.
      (a) An intense rich yellow color, deeper than gamboge but
          less pure than cadmium.
      (b) See {Euxanthin}.

Persian \Per"sian\, a. [From Persia: cf. It. Persiano. Cf.
   {Parsee}, {Peach}, {Persic}.]
   Of or pertaining to Persia, to the Persians, or to their
   language.

   {Persian berry}, the fruit of {Rhamnus infectorius}, a kind
      of buckthorn, used for dyeing yellow, and imported chiefly
      from Trebizond.

   {Persian cat}. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Angora cat}, under
      {Angora}.

   {Persian columns} (Arch.), columns of which the shaft
      represents a Persian slave; -- called also {Persians}. See
      {Atlantes}.

   {Persian drill} (Mech.), a drill which is turned by pushing a
      nut back and forth along a spirally grooved drill holder.
      

   {Persian fire} (Med.), malignant pustule.

   {Persian powder}. See {Insect powder}, under {Insect}.

   {Persian red}. See {Indian red}
   (a), under {Indian}.

   {Persian wheel}, a noria; a tympanum. See {Noria}.