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}.

Summer \Sum"mer\, n. [OE. sumer, somer, AS. sumor, sumer; akin
   to OFries. sumur, D. zomer, OS. sumar, G. sommer, OHG. &
   Icel. sumar, Dan. sommer, Sw. sommar, W. haf, Zend hama, Skr.
   sam[=a] year. [root]292.]
   The season of the year in which the sun shines most directly
   upon any region; the warmest period of the year.

   Note: North of the equator summer is popularly taken to
         include the months of June, July, and August.
         Astronomically it may be considered, in the northern
         hemisphere, to begin with the summer solstice, about
         June 21st, and to end with the autumnal equinox, about
         September 22d.

   {Indian summer}, in North America, a period of warm weather
      late in autumn, usually characterized by a clear sky, and
      by a hazy or smoky appearance of the atmosphere,
      especially near the horizon. The name is derived probably
      from the custom of the Indians of using this time in
      preparation for winter by laying in stores of food.

   {Saint Martin's summer}. See under {Saint}.

   {Summer bird} (Zo["o]l.), the wryneck. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Summer colt}, the undulating state of the air near the
      surface of the ground when heated. [Eng.]

   {Summer complaint} (Med.), a popular term for any diarrheal
      disorder occurring in summer, especially when produced by
      heat and indigestion.

   {Summer coot} (Zo["o]l.), the American gallinule. [Local,
      U.S.]

   {Summer cypress} (Bot.), an annual plant ({Kochia Scoparia})
      of the Goosefoot family. It has narrow, ciliate, crowded
      leaves, and is sometimes seen in gardens.

   {Summer duck}. (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) The wood duck.
   (b) The garganey, or summer teal. See Illust. of {Wood duck},
       under {Wood}.

   {Summer fallow}, land uncropped and plowed, etc., during the
      summer, in order to pulverize the soil and kill the weeds.
      

   {Summer rash} (Med.), prickly heat. See under {Prickly}.

   {Summer sheldrake} (Zo["o]l.), the hooded merganser. [Local,
      U.S.]

   {Summer snipe}. (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) The dunlin.
   (b) The common European sandpiper.
   (c) The green sandpiper.

   {Summer tanager} (Zo["o]l.), a singing bird ({Piranga rubra})
      native of the Middle and Southern United States. The male
      is deep red, the female is yellowish olive above and
      yellow beneath. Called also {summer redbird}.

   {Summer teal} (Zo["o]l.), the blue-winged teal. [Local, U.S.]
      

   {Summer wheat}, wheat that is sown in the spring, and matures
      during the summer following. See {Spring wheat}.

   {Summer yellowbird}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Yellowbird}.

Source : WordNet®

Indian summer
     n : a period of unusually warm weather in the autumn [syn: {Saint
         Martin's summer}]