anil

American  

[an-l] / ˈæn l /

noun

1. a West Indian shrub, Indigofera suffruticosa, of the legume family, having elongated clusters of small, reddish-yellow flowers and yielding indigo.

2. indigo; deep blue.

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anil British  

/ ˈænɪl /

noun

1. Also called: indigo.  a leguminous West Indian shrub, Indigofera suffruticosa: a source of indigo

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Etymology

Origin of anil

1575–85; < Portuguese < Arabic an-nīl, equivalent to al the + nīl indigo < Sanskrit nīlī indigo ( nīl ( a ) dark blue + -ī feminine noun suffix)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anil

Putting into Acapulco, they found a bark laden with cocoas and anil.

From Notable Voyagers From Columbus to Nordenskiold by Kingston, William Henry Giles

The lungs on either side are enclosed in a separate and perfect bag, anil each lung has a distinct pleura.

From The Dog by Youatt, William

Pertaining to, or obtained from, anil; indigotic; Ð applied to an acid formed by the action of nitric acid on indigo.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

Discovered in 1826, this body was formerly prepared from indigo—in Spanish, anil, whence the name; but is now produced on a larger scale from benzol, a coal-tar product.

From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Salter, Thomas

It was from that province that the coasts of Cumana received the first seeds of the Indigofera anil,* which is cultivated jointly with the Indigofera tinctoria.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Ross, Thomasina