woad

noun

: a European herb (Isatis tinctoria) of the mustard family formerly grown for the blue dyestuff yielded by its leaves
also : this dyestuff

Examples of woad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The dye analysis confirmed that indigo or woad in the green fabric were both used. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2023 The use of indigo or woad in the green color and the lack of any synthetic dye indicated it was made before the 1750s, the museum said in a statement. Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2023 Achieving a luxurious hue, coaxed from the red roots of the herb madder and the small bluish leaves of the flower woad, required multiple rounds of costly dyeing. Katie Thornton, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2022 Many purples in historic fabrics are, in fact, the result of coloring a fabric with a blue dye, like indigo or woad, and a red dye, like madder. Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 July 2022 In France in 1598, King Henry IV favored woad producers by banning the import of indigo, and in 1609 decreed that anyone using the dye would be executed. Brandon Tensley, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Nov. 2020 Plus, indigo represented a threat to European textile merchants who had heavily invested in woad, a homegrown source of blue dye. Brandon Tensley, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Nov. 2020 His ruling élite dressed in the finest clothes, made by boiling woad leaves and madder roots to produce dyes of dazzling cerulean and ruby. Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 22 June 2020 Seeing a peasant wearing red is improbable, but the abundance of woad makes blue dyes commonplace even among peasants. Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 13 Nov. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wod, from Old English wād; akin to Old High German weit woad, Latin vitrum

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of woad was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near woad

Cite this Entry

“Woad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woad. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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