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Indian

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: indian, Indián, and indián

English

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Etymology

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    From Middle English Indien, from Anglo-Norman indien, Middle French indien, corresponding to Ind +‎ -ian or India +‎ -an. Applied to inhabitants of the Americas due to an early misconception that the Americas were the eastern end of Asia / the Indies[1] (hence also the designation of Caribbean islands as the West Indies).

    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    Indian (comparative more Indian, superlative most Indian)

    1. Of or relating to India or its people; or (formerly) of the East Indies. [from 14th c.]
      Synonyms: East Indian, Indic, Hindian, Desi, (archaic) Indish
      • 2023 March 24, Rhea Mogul, “Russia can’t meet India arms deliveries due to Ukraine war, Indian Air Force says”, in CNN‎[1], archived from the original on 15 June 2024:
        An IAF representative told an Indian parliamentary committee that due to the Ukraine war a “major delivery” from Moscow “is not going to take place.”
    2. (obsolete) Eastern; Oriental.
    3. (proscribed) Of or relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. [from 16th c.]
      Synonyms: Native American, Amerindian, First Nation
      • 1879, Friedrich August Flückiger et al., Pharmacographia..., page 346:
        The hardships of bark-collecting in the primeval forests of South America are of the severest kind, and undergone only by the half-civilized Indians and people of mixed race, in the pay of speculators or companies located in the towns.
    4. (Canada, US, of foods, proscribed) Made with Indian corn or maize. [from 17th c.]
      Indian bread
      Indian meal
    5. (chess) Designating any of various chess openings now characterised by black's attempt to control the board through knights and fianchettoed bishops rather than with a central pawn advance. [from 19th c.]

    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Noun

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    Indian (countable and uncountable, plural Indians)

    1. (countable) A person from India. [from 13th c.]
      Synonyms: Asian Indian, East Indian, Hindian, Desi
      • 2025, collective, “SCP-953”, in SCP Foundation‎[2], archived from the original on 8 January 2026:
        [A]ll personnel are to be hereby ordered to refer to her as a "Kumiho," and not a "Kitsune." Personnel asking what the difference is are to be reminded of the difference between a Cherokee Indian and a New Delhi Indian.
      • 2025 February 7, Esha Mitra, Aishwarya S Iyer and Ross Adkin, “‘Treated like criminals’: Shackling of Indians aboard 40-hour migrant flight sparks new outrage against Trump”, in CNN‎[3], archived from the original on 27 February 2025:
        Young Indians looking for work opportunities have made up a sizeable portion of undocumented migrants in the US, many after making the dangerous trek through Latin America to reach the US southern border.
    2. (countable, proscribed) An American Indian, a member of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (generally excluding the Aleut, Inuit, Metis, and Yupik). [from 16th c.]
      Synonyms: Amerindian, Native American, Red Indian, First Nations person; see also Thesaurus:Native American
      • 1820 July, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Traits of Indian Character”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC:
        We stigmatize the Indians, also, as cowardly and treacherous, because they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; but in this they are fully justified by their rude code of honor.
      • 1909, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “He Also Serves”, in Options‎[4]:
        High Jack had been drinking too much rum ever since we landed in Boca. You know how an Indian is—the palefaces fixed his clock when they introduced him to firewater.
      • 1951, Louis L'Amour, Rustlers of West Fork:
        With savage desperation the Indian lunged his horse straight at Hopalong and, knife in hand, leaped for him!
      • 2025, collective, “SCP-953”, in SCP Foundation‎[5]:
        [A]ll personnel are to be hereby ordered to refer to her as a "Kumiho," and not a "Kitsune." Personnel asking what the difference is are to be reminded of the difference between a Cherokee Indian and a New Delhi Indian.
    3. (countable, obsolete) An indigenous inhabitant of Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific islands. [from 18th c.]
    4. (uncountable) Ellipsis of Indian cuisine.
      Have you ever tried Indian?
    5. (UK, countable, colloquial) Ellipsis of Indian meal (“meal consisting of Indian cuisine”). [from 20th c.]
      We're going out tonight for an Indian.
    6. (UK, countable, colloquial) Ellipsis of Indian restaurant (“restaurant serving Indian cuisine”).
      We're going down to the Indian for a curry—wanna join us?
    7. (countable) Ellipsis of Mardi Gras Indian.
    8. A kind of marble (spherical toy) with colored bands on an opaque black base.

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    Proper noun

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    Indian

    1. (nonstandard) Any of the (unrelated) languages spoken by American Indians.
    2. (nonstandard, rare) Any language spoken by natives of India, especially Hindi.
      • 1968, Anne Rider, A hilltop in hazard, page 51:
        [They said] 'Mutton can speak Indian', 'Mutton can see Kanchinjunga out of his bedroom window'[.]

    References

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    1. ^ “Indian”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

    Interlingua

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    Pronunciation

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    Adjective

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    Indian

    1. Indian (of India)
    2. Native American; Indian
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