Also indi‑.
A chemical substance related to indigo or an indole.
English indigo, via Portuguese from Greek indikos, of India.
Indigo is a tropical plant from which a blue dye is obtained; its main constituent is a crystalline compound either called indigotin or indigo blue, which also occurs in woad; indirubin, indigo red, is an isomer. Sometimes indo‑ refers to the colour, as in indicolite, an indigo-blue gem variety of tourmaline, or the element indium, called that because there are two characteristic indigo lines in its spectrum.
Indole is a crystalline organic compound with an unpleasant odour, present in coal tar and in faeces, first obtained artificially from indigo blue; indene (indole plus ‑ene1) is a colourless liquid hydrocarbon, obtained from coal tar and used in making synthetic resins; the indoxyl radical —ONC8H6 is derived from indole and is present in indigotin; indoleacetic acid is an acetic acid derivative of indole, especially found in plants.
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