Neel
/niːl/noun
An indigo dye or the indigo plant, especially in historical South Asian usage.
Did you know?Neel comes from the same South Asian color tradition behind terms for indigo, a dye whose colonial cultivation in India provoked the Indigo Revolt of 1859–60.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Sanskrit
Sanskrit
nīla
“Blue, dark blue, or dark-colored”
Middle Indo-Aryan
Prakrit
nīla
“Blue or indigo-colored”
Medieval period
Persian/Hindustani
nīl
“Indigo or blue dye”
18th Century
Anglo-Indian English
neel
“Indigo, particularly the dye produced in South Asia”
Modern English
English
neel
“An indigo plant or indigo dye, chiefly in historical or regional usage”