anil

[ an-l ]

/ ˈæn l /

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noun

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

indigo; deep blue.

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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)

Words nearby anil

Anicetus, aniconic, aniconism, anigh, Anik, anil, anile, anilide, aniline, aniline black, aniline dye

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anil in a sentence

And there was in fact somebody who fainted—Anil Kumar, a former McKinsey & Co. executive vice president.
Charles Gasparino Details Insider-Trading Investigations in New Book, ‘Circle of Friends’|William O’Connor|July 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Anil, an′il, n. a plant from whose leaves and stalks indigo is made.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
Some authors have thought that I. Anil, Linnæus, was one of these species.
Origin of Cultivated Plants|Alphonse De Candolle
Jack (appears in doorway Left clad in ragged anil dirty overcoat).
The Pot Boiler|Upton Sinclair

Indigofera Anil grows in the same countries, and also in the West Indies.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
Putting into Acapulco, they found a bark laden with cocoas and anil.
Notable Voyagers|W.H.G. Kingston and Henry Frith

British Dictionary definitions for anil

anil

/ (ˈænɪl) /

noun

a leguminous West Indian shrub, Indigofera suffruticosa: a source of indigoAlso called: indigo

Word Origin for anil

C16: from Portuguese, from Arabic an-nīl, the indigo, from Sanskrit nīla dark blue

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012