indian

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Indian^¹

/ˈɪn.dɪ.ən/ UK
/ˈɪn.di.ən/ US
/ˈɪnɖ(ɪ)jən/ India

Rhymes with -ɪndiən

Where it comes from

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).

adjective more Indian · most Indian

Of or relating to India or its people; or (formerly) of the East Indies. An IAF representative told an Indian parliamentary committee that due to the Ukraine war a “major delivery” from Moscow “is not going to take place.”
Similar: East Indian, Indic, Hindian, Desi, Indish
obsolete Eastern; Oriental. The morrow next apprear'd with purple hayre / Yet dropping fresh out of the Indian fount, / And bringing light into the heavens fayre […].
proscribed Of or relating to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The hardships of bark-collecting in the primeval forests of South America are of the severest kind, and undergone only by the half-civilized Indians and people of mixed race, in the pay of speculators or companies located in the towns.
Similar: Native American, Amerindian, First Nation
Canada, US, proscribed, of foods Made with Indian corn or maize. Indian bread
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 Indians

countable A person from the country of India. [A]ll personnel are to be hereby ordered to refer to her as a "Kumiho," and not a "Kitsune." Personnel asking what the difference is are to be reminded of the difference between a Cherokee Indian and a New Delhi Indian.
Similar: Asian Indian, East Indian, Hindian, Desi
countable, dated, proscribed, uncountable A person from the subcontinent of India.
Similar: South Asian
countable, proscribed An American Indian, a member of one of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (generally excluding the Aleut, Inuit, Metis, and Yupik). We stigmatize the Indians, also, as cowardly and treacherous, because they use stratagem in warfare in preference to open force; but in this they are fully justified by their rude code of honor.
Similar: Amerindian, Native American, Red Indian, First Nations person, American Indian, Amerind, First American, Indian, Indigenous American, Indigenous North American, Injun, injun
countable, obsolete An indigenous inhabitant of Australia, New Zealand or the Pacific islands.
abbreviation, ellipsis, uncountable Ellipsis of Indian cuisine Have you ever tried Indian?
UK, abbreviation, colloquial, countable, ellipsis Ellipsis of Indian meal (“meal consisting of Indian cuisine”). We're going out tonight for an Indian.
UK, abbreviation, colloquial, countable, ellipsis Ellipsis of Indian restaurant (“restaurant serving Indian cuisine”). We're going down to the Indian for a curry—wanna join us?
abbreviation, countable, ellipsis Ellipsis of Mardi Gras Indian
countable, uncountable A kind of marble (spherical toy) with colored bands on an opaque black base.

proper noun

nonstandard Any of the (unrelated) languages spoken by American Indians.
nonstandard, rare Any language spoken by natives of India, especially Hindi. [They said] 'Mutton can speak Indian', 'Mutton can see Kanchinjunga out of his bedroom window'[.]

indian^²

noun indians

Alternative letter-case form of Indian (“indigene”).

adjective more indian · most indian

Alternative letter-case form of Indian (“indigenous”).

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: american indian, red indian, amerindic, amerind, native american, american-indian language, amerindian language, ind, inde, hindi, bharat, india, injun, indies, inuit, amerindian

Translations

Every language

adj of India

Español	indio, hindú, indo
한국어	인도의 Indo-ui
日本語	インドの
中文	印度的 Yìndù de
हिन्दी	भारतीय bhārtīya, हिन्दुस्तानी hindustānī, हिन्दी hindī
Português	indiano, hindu
Français	indien
Deutsch	indisch
Italiano	indiano
Ελληνικά	ινδικός indikós
Română	indian
Русский	инди́йский indíjskij
Tiếng Việt	Ấn Độ, Ấn
العربية	هِنْدِيّ hindiyy
עברית	הׇדִּי hódi

adj of the aboriginal people of the Americas

Español	indígena, indio, indiano, amerindio, indoamericano, jashto
한국어	인디언의 indieon-ui
日本語	インディアンの
中文	印第安的 yìndì'ān de, 印地安的 yìndì'ān de
हिन्दी	मूल अमेरिकी mūl amerikī
Português	índio, indígena, ameríndio
Français	amérindien, indien
Deutsch	indianisch
Italiano	indiano
Ελληνικά	ινδιάνικος indiánikos
Română	amerindian, indian
Русский	инде́йский indéjskij
עברית	אינדיאני indiáni

noun a person from India

Español	indio, india, hindú, indo
한국어	인도인 indoin, 인도 사람 indo saram
日本語	インド人 Indojin, 印度人 Indojin
中文	印度人 Yìndùrén
हिन्दी	भारतीय bhārtīya, हिन्दुस्तानी hindustānī, इंडियन iṇḍiyan, हिन्दी hindī, हिन्दू hindū
Kiswahili	Mhindi
Português	hindu, indiano
Français	Indien, Indienne
Deutsch	Inder, Inderin
Italiano	indiano, indiana
Ελληνικά	Ινδός Indós, Ινδή Indí
Română	indian, indiancă
Русский	инди́ец indíjec, индиа́нка indiánka, инду́с indús, инду́ска indúska
Tiếng Việt	người Ấn Độ
العربية	هِنْدِيّ hindiyy, هِنْدِيَّة hindiyya

noun individual of, or related to, the aboriginal people of the Americas

Español	indio, indoamericano, indoamericana, amerindio, amerindia, indígena
한국어	인디언 indieon
日本語	インディアン indian, インディオ indio, アメリカ先住民 Amerika senjūmin
中文	印第安人 yìndì'ānrén, 印第安 yìndì'ān, 美洲印第安人 Měizhōu yìndì'ānrén
हिन्दी	मूल अमेरिकी mūl amerikī
Português	índio, índia, ameríndio, ameríndia, indígena
Français	amérindien, amérindienne, Amérindien, Amérindienne, indien, indienne
Deutsch	Indianer, Indianerin
Italiano	indiano, indiana, indiano d'America, amerindio, amerindia
Ελληνικά	Ινδιάνος Indiános, Ινδιάνα Indiána
Română	indian, amerindian, indian american, indiancă, amerindiancă
Русский	инде́ец indéjec, индиа́нка indiánka, америка́нский инде́ец amerikánskij indéjec, америка́нская индиа́нка amerikánskaja indiánka
Tiếng Việt	người da đỏ, thổ dân châu Mỹ, các dân tộc bản địa của châu Mỹ

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MLA

"indian." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/indian. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

indian. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/indian

Chicago

"indian." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/indian.

BibTeX

@misc{indian_2026,
  title = {indian},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/indian},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}