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Indian

Pronunciation: /ˈɪn.dɪ.ən/

The English word “Indian” has 11 meanings listed here.

adjective

  1. Of or relating to India or its people; or (formerly) of the East Indies.
  2. Eastern; Oriental.
  3. Of or relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
  4. Made with Indian corn or maize.
  5. 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.

noun

  1. A person from India.
  2. An American Indian, a member of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (generally excluding the Aleut, Inuit, Metis, and Yupik).
  3. An indigenous inhabitant of Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific islands.
  4. A kind of marble (spherical toy) with colored bands on an opaque black base.

proper noun

  1. Any of the (unrelated) languages spoken by American Indians.
  2. Any language spoken by natives of India, especially Hindi.

Etymology

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 (hence also the designation of Caribbean islands as the West Indies).

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