madder

Meanings

Noun

• A herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root.
• The root of the plant, used as a medicine or a dye.
• A dye made from the plant.
• A deep reddish purple colour, like that of the dye.

Adjective

• Of a deep reddish purple colour, like that of the dye.
• Comparative form or more of mad

Related

Similar words

• common madder, dyer's madder

Origin

• From Middle English mader, madere, mædere, from Old English mædere, mæddre, mædre, from Proto-Germanic *madarǭ (compare Swedish madra, Old Norse / Icelandic maðra), from Proto-Indo-European *modʰro-, cognate with Proto-Slavic *modrъ, and compare Irish madar, Latvian madara.
• Inflected forms.
• From mead