Indian

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

In·di·an

(ĭn′dē-ən)

adj.

1. Of or relating to India or the East Indies or to their peoples, languages, or cultures.

2. Of or relating to any of the Native American peoples except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits.

a. A native or inhabitant of India or of the East Indies.

b. A person of Indian or East Indian ancestry.

a. A member of any of the Native American peoples except the Eskimos, Aleuts, and Inuits.

b. Any of the languages of these peoples. See Usage Notes at American Indian, First Nation, Native American.

3. See Indus².

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Indian

(ˈɪndɪən)

1. (Peoples) a native, citizen, or inhabitant of the Republic of India

2. (Peoples) old-fashioned taboo a Native American

3. (Languages) (not in scholarly usage) any of the languages of Native Americans

adj

4. (Placename) of, relating to, or characteristic of India, its inhabitants, or any of their languages

5. (Peoples) of, relating to, or characteristic of India, its inhabitants, or any of their languages

6. (Languages) of, relating to, or characteristic of India, its inhabitants, or any of their languages

7. (Peoples) (Not in scholarly usage) of, relating to, or characteristic of Native Americans or any of their languages

8. (Languages) (Not in scholarly usage) of, relating to, or characteristic of Native Americans or any of their languages

Usage: See at Native American

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

In•di•an

(ˈɪn di ən)

n.

1. American Indian.

2. any of the indigenous languages of the American Indians.

3. a native, citizen, or inhabitant of the Republic of India.

4. a native or inhabitant of the subcontinent of India.

adj.

5. of or pertaining to the American Indians or their languages.

6. of or pertaining to India or S Asia.

7. oriental (def. 3).

8. belonging or pertaining to a phytogeographical division comprising India S of the Himalayas, and Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

[1350–1400; < Middle English < Old French < Medieval Latin Indiānus]

usage: In modern times the term Indian may refer to a member of an aboriginal American people, to an inhabitant of the subcontinent of India, or to a citizen of the Republic of India. In the 18th century the term American Indian came to be used for the aboriginal inhabitants of the U.S. and Canada; it now includes the aboriginal peoples of South America as well. Amerindian and Amerind developed in the next century in a further attempt to reduce ambiguity. The most recent designation, esp. in North America, is Native American. American Indians themselves tend to use the terms Indian, American Indian, or a specific tribal name. They sometimes refer to themselves collectively as Indian Peoples. Whether one term will gain ascendancy over the others remains to be seen. The only pre-European inhabitants of North America to whom Indian or terms using the word Indian usu. are not applied are the Eskimos and Aleuts. See also Eskimo.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	Indian - a member of the race of people living in America when Europeans arrived American Indian, Red Indian Amerindian, Native American - any member of the peoples living in North or South America before the Europeans arrived Algonquian, Algonquin - a member of any of the North American Indian groups speaking an Algonquian language and originally living in the subarctic regions of eastern Canada; many Algonquian tribes migrated south into the woodlands from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic coast Anasazi - a Native American who lived in what is now southern Colorado and Utah and northern Arizona and New Mexico and who built cliff dwellings Athabaskan, Athapascan, Athapaskan, Athabascan - a member of any of the North American Indian groups speaking an Athapaskan language and living in the subarctic regions of western Canada and central Alaska Amerindian race, Indian race - usually included in the Mongoloid race Maya, Mayan - a member of an American Indian people of Yucatan and Belize and Guatemala who had a culture (which reached its peak between AD 300 and 900) characterized by outstanding architecture and pottery and astronomy; "Mayans had a system of writing and an accurate calendar" Nahuatl - a member of any of various Indian peoples of central Mexico Olmec - a member of an early Mesoamerican civilization centered around Veracruz that flourished between 1300 and 400 BC Zapotec, Zapotecan - a member of a large tribe of Mesoamericans living in southern Mexico whose civilization flourished around 300 to 900 Buffalo Indian, Plains Indian - a member of one of the tribes of American Indians who lived a nomadic life following the buffalo in the Great Plains of North America Chickasaw - a member of the Muskhogean people formerly living in northern Mississippi Coeur d'Alene - a member of an Amerindian people living in northern Idaho around Coeur d'Alene Lake Creek - any member of the Creek Confederacy (especially the Muskogee) formerly living in Georgia and Alabama but now chiefly in Oklahoma Haida - a member of a seafaring group of North American Indians who lived on the Pacific coast of British Columbia and southwestern Alaska Hoka, Hokan - a member of a North American Indian people speaking one of the Hokan languages Iroquois - any member of the warlike North American Indian peoples formerly living in New York State; the Iroquois League were allies of the British during the American Revolution Muskhogean, Muskogean - a member of any of the peoples formerly living in southeastern United States and speaking Muskhogean languages Penutian - a member of a North American Indian people speaking one of the Penutian languages Pueblo - a member of any of about two dozen Native American peoples called `Pueblos' by the Spanish because they live in pueblos (villages built of adobe and rock) Salish - a member of a group of North American Indians speaking a Salishan language and living on the northwest coast of North America Shoshone, Shoshoni - a member of the North American Indian people (related to the Aztecs) of the southwestern United States Taracahitian - a member of a group of peoples of Mexico Tlingit - a member of a seafaring group of North American Indians living in southern Alaska Wakashan - a member of one of the peoples in British Columbia and Washington who speak the Wakashan language Aleut, Aleutian - a member of the people inhabiting the Aleutian Islands and southwestern Alaska Eskimo, Esquimau, Inuit - a member of a people inhabiting the Arctic (northern Canada or Greenland or Alaska or eastern Siberia); the Algonquians called them Eskimo (`eaters of raw flesh') but they call themselves the Inuit (`the people') Paleo-American, Paleo-Amerind, Paleo-Indian - a member of the Paleo-American peoples who were the earliest human inhabitants of North America and South America during the late Pleistocene epoch sannup - a married male American Indian squaw - an American Indian woman
	2.	Indian - a native or inhabitant of India Bharat, India, Republic of India - a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947 Asian, Asiatic - a native or inhabitant of Asia Indian race - sometimes included in the Caucasian race; native to the subcontinent of India Assamese - native or inhabitant of the state of Assam in northeastern India Dravidian - a member of one of the aboriginal races of India (pushed south by Caucasians and now mixed with them) Gujarati, Gujerati - a member of the people of Gujarat Kashmiri - a member of the people of Kashmir Oriya - a member of a people in India living in Orissa and neighboring areas Panjabi, Punjabi - a member of the majority people of Punjab in northwestern India Mahratta, Maratha - a member of a people of India living in Maharashtra Roma, Romani, Romany, Rommany, Bohemian, Gipsy - a member of a people with dark skin and hair who speak Romany and who traditionally live by seasonal work and fortunetelling; they are believed to have originated in northern India but now are living on all continents (but mostly in Europe, North Africa, and North America) jawan - (India) a private soldier or male constable
	3.	Indian - any of the languages spoken by Amerindians American-Indian language, Amerind, Amerindian language, American Indian natural language, tongue - a human written or spoken language used by a community; opposed to e.g. a computer language Algonquian language, Algonquin, Algonquian - family of North American Indian languages spoken from Labrador to South Carolina and west to the Great Plains Atakapan, Attacapa, Attacapan, Atakapa - a language spoken by the Atakapa of the Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas Athabascan, Athapaskan language, Athabaskan, Athapascan, Athapaskan - a group of Amerindian languages (the name coined by an American anthropologist, Edward Sapir) Muskhogean language, Muskogean language, Muskhogean, Muskogean - a family of North American Indian languages spoken in the southeastern United States Na-Dene - a family of North American Indian languages Mosan - a family of Amerindian languages spoken in Washington and British Columbia Caddoan, Caddoan language, Caddo - a family of North American Indian languages spoken widely in the Midwest by the Caddo Iroquoian, Iroquoian language, Iroquois - a family of North American Indian languages spoken by the Iroquois Kechuan, Quechuan, Quechuan language, Quechua, Kechua - the language of the Quechua which was spoken by the Incas Maracan language, Maraco - the language spoken by the Maraco Tupi-Guarani, Tupi-Guarani language - a family of South American Indian languages Arawak, Arawakan - a family of South American Indian languages spoken in northeastern South America Caribbean language, Carib - the family of languages spoken by the Carib Uto-Aztecan, Uto-Aztecan language - a family of American Indian languages Mayan language, Maya, Mayan - a family of American Indian languages spoken by Maya Siouan language, Siouan - a family of North American Indian languages spoken by the Sioux Tanoan, Tanoan language - a family of North American Indian language spoken in southwestern United States Hokan, Hoka - a family of Amerindian languages spoken in California Penutian - a family of Amerindian language spoken in the great interior valley of California
Adj.	1.	Indian - of or relating to or characteristic of India or the East Indies or their peoples or languages or cultures; "the Indian subcontinent"; "Indian saris"
	2.	Indian - of or pertaining to American Indians or their culture or languages; "Native American religions"; "Indian arrowheads" Amerind, Amerindic, Native American

Translations

الهِنْدي الأمريكيهِنْدي: أحد سكان الهِنْدهِندي، هِنْدي أمريكيهِنْدِيٌّ

Indindický-kaIndiánindiánský

inderindiskindianerindianskIndien

Inder indisch Inderin Indianer Indianerin

ινδικός Ινδός ινδική ινδικό

indio hindú indígena

intialainenintiaani

Indien indienne

IndijacindijskiIndijanacIndijankaindijanski

indiaiindiánindusind

indian

amerískur indíániIndverjiindverskur; indíána-

indiano amerindo

インドのインド人

인도 사람인도의

indėnasindėniškasindiškas

indiānisindiāņu-indiešu-indietis

Indiaas Indiër Indisch

inder indisk indianer indiansk indianer-

Hindus indyjski

indiano hindu

индиец индийский индиянка индеец

IndIndiánindiánskyindický

IndijanecIndijecIndijkaindijskiIndijanka

indierindiskindianindiansk

เกี่ยวกับชาวอินเดียชาวอินเดีย

hint Hintli KızılderiliHindistana/Hintlilere ait

індіанецьіндіаниніндіанськийіндієцьіндійський

người Ấn Độthuộc nước/người/tiếng Ấn Độ

印度人印度人的印度的印第安人印第安人的

Indian

[ˈɪndɪən]

A. ADJ (= from India) [culture, languages, customs] → indio, hindú; (= American Indian) → indígena, indio

B. N (from India) → indio/a m/f, hindú mf; (= American Indian) → indígena mf, indio/a m/f

C. CPD Indian corn N = maize Indian elephant N → elefante m asiático
Indian file N → fila f india
Indian hemp N → cáñamo m índico
Indian ink N → tinta f china
the Indian Ocean N → el Océano Índico
Indian summer N (in northern hemisphere) → veranillo m de San Martín; (in southern hemisphere) → veranillo m de San Juan
the publication of that book gave her career an Indian summer → la publicación de ese libro dio lugar a un éxito tardío en su carrera

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

Indian

[ˈɪndiən]

adj

(Asian) → indien(ne) Indian restaurant

(American) → indien(ne) m/f

(Asian) → Indien(ne) m/f

(= Indian meal) → indien m
to go for an Indian → se faire un restau indien, se faire un indien

(American) → Indien(ne) m/f American IndianIndian corn n → maïs mIndian elephant n → éléphant m d'AsieIndian ink n → encre f de Chine

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Indian

adj

→ indisch; the Indian rope-trick → der indische Seiltrick

(= American Indian) (neg!) → indianisch, Indianer-

→ Inder(in) m(f)

(= American Indian) (neg!) → Indianer(in) m(f); too many chiefs and not enough Indians (fig) → zu viele Köpfe und nicht genug Hände

Indian

Indian-British

adj → indisch-britisch (britisch mit indischer Herkunft)

Indian club

n → Keule f

Indian corn

n → Mais m

Indian cress

n (Bot) → Kapuzinerkresse f

Indian elephant

n → Indischer Elefant

Indian file

n → Gänsemarsch m; in Indian → im Gänsemarsch

Indian giver

n (US inf) jd, der etwas Geschenktes zurückfordert

Indian ink

n → Tusche f

Indian meal

(US, of corn) → Maismehl nt

(Cook: = dish) → indisches Gericht

Indian Ocean

n → Indischer Ozean

Indian reservation

n (neg!) → Indianerreservat nt

Indian sign

n (US) → Zauber m; to put an Indian on somebody → jdn verzaubern or verhexen

Indian summer

n → Altweibersommer m, → Spät- or Nachsommer m; (esp Brit fig: = success late in life) → späte Blüte

Indian wrestling

n → Armdrücken nt

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Indian

[ˈɪndɪən]

1. adj

a. (from India) → indiano/a

b. (American Indian) → indiano/a (d'America)

2. n

a. (from India) → indiano/a

b. (American Indian) → indiano/a (d'America)

Indian

(ˈindiən) noun

1. a native inhabitant of North America (see also Red Indian at red), Central or South America.

2. a person born in India or having Indian citizenship.

adjective

of India or of Indians.

Indian

→ هِنْدِيٌّ Ind, indický inder, indisk Inder, indisch ινδικός, Ινδός indio intialainen indien Indijac, indijski indiano インドの, インド人 인도 사람, 인도의 Indiaas, Indiër inder, indisk Hindus, indyjski indiano индиец, индийский indier, indisk เกี่ยวกับชาวอินเดีย, ชาวอินเดีย Hint, Hintli người Ấn Độ, thuộc nước/người/tiếng Ấn Độ 印度人, 印度的

References in classic literature ?

But I know not why we should suppose that an Indian's life is less precious, in the eye of Heaven, than that of a white man.

There were heaps of earth also, which, being dug open, proved to be Indian graves, containing bows and flint-headed spears and arrows; for the Indians buried the dead warrior's weapons along with him.

View in context

Beside his own people, motley in character and costume--creole, Kentuckian, Indian, half-breed, hired trapper, and free trapper--he was surrounded by encampments of Nez Perces and Flatheads, with their droves of horses covering the hills and plains.

Many of the Indian warriors and hunters encamped around Captain Bonneville possess from thirty to forty horses each.

View in context

The generous usage the Indians had promised before in my capitulation, was afterwards fully complied with, and we proceeded with them as prisoners to old Chelicothe, the principal Indian town, on Little Miami, where we arrived, after an uncomfortable journey, in very severe weather, on the eighteenth day of February, and received as good treatment as prisoners could expect from savages.--On the tenth day of March following, I, and ten of my men, were conducted by forty Indians to Detroit, where we arrived the thirtieth day, and were treated by Governor Hamilton, the British commander at that post, with great humanity.

In this time we daily expected the arrival of the Indian army; and at length, one of my fellow prisoners, escaping from them, arrived, informing us that the enemy had an account of my departure, and postponed their expedition three weeks.--The Indians had spies out viewing our movements, and were greatly alarmed with our increase in number and fortifications.

View in context

I accordingly informed the Indian that the lady of the house was out; and I warned him and his party off the premises.

View in context

The greater number of men were of a mixed breed, between Negro, Indian, and Spaniard.

View in context

The sun was setting, and the monarch was about to give his court the signal to retire, when suddenly an Indian appeared before his throne, leading a horse richly harnessed, and looking in every respect exactly like a real one.

View in context

Many of these coureurs des bois became so accustomed to the Indian mode of living, and the perfect freedom of the wilderness, that they lost relish for civilization, and identified themselves with the savages among whom they dwelt, or could only be distinguished from them by superior licentiousness.

View in context

But the young inventor quickly elevated the muzzle, and the deadly missile went hissing through the air over the head of a native Indian who, at that moment, stepped from the bush.

View in context

Still there is so much obscurity in the Indian traditions, and so much confusion in the Indian names, as to render some explanation useful.