indigo
/ˈɪndɪˌɡoʊ/noun, adjective
indigo is spelled I-N-D-I-G-O: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, indigo means “A purplish-blue color” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of indigo is indigos or indigoes.
How many letters and syllables are in indigo?
| Letters | 6: I-N-D-I-G-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is indigo?
Indigo appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce indigo?
- UK /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/
- US /ˈɪndɪˌɡoʊ/
- /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡo/
Indigo has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-indigo.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of indigo
- indigos plural
- indigoes plural
- more indigo comparative
- most indigo superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does indigo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A purplish-blue color.
- 2
A greenish dark blue color; the color of indigo dye.
- 3
A blue-colored dye obtained from certain plants (indigo plant or woad), or a similar synthetic dye.
- 4
An indigo plant, such as from species in genera Indigofera, Amorpha (false indigo), Baptisia (wild indigo), and Psorothamnus and Dalea (indigo bush).
adjective
- 1
having a deep purplish-blue colour
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate indigo?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of indigo: ind..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Indigo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense colour:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | indigo |
| German | Indigo, indigofarben |
| Portuguese | anil, índigo |
| Spanish | índigo, añil, turquí |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does indigo come from?
16th century (as indico, modern spelling from the 17th century), Spanish índigo, Portuguese endego (modern índigo), or Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum (“indigo”), from Ancient Greek ἰνδικόν (indikón, “Indian dye”), from Ἰνδία (Indía). Doublet of Indic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).