Indian yellow

American  

noun

1. Also called purree, snowshoe.  an orange-yellow color.

2. Painting.

   1. Also called purree.  a yellow pigment formerly derived from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves.

   2. a pigment derived from coal tar, characterized chiefly by its yellow color and permanence.

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Etymology

Origin of Indian yellow

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The walls of her living room are painted a warm, deep Indian yellow.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 19, 2015

In the 19th century, analysis suggested samples of Indian yellow were ordinary vegetable dye.

From The Guardian • Jul. 25, 2013

"Is this Indian yellow?" he asks, pointing to the pigment on her jacket.

From The Guardian • Jul. 25, 2013

Indian yellow was said to be made like this, though some accounts say it was camel or elephant urine, or that they were fed turmeric.

From The Guardian • Jul. 25, 2013

Indian yellow and yellow lake should both be avoided as fugitive.

From The Painter in Oil A complete treatise on the principles and technique necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors by Parkhurst, Daniel Burleigh