**Indigo**
Tracing back to its etymological roots, #0excludeGlossary originates from the Greek word #1excludeGlossary which translates to #2excludeGlossary This term was historically used to describe the rich blue pigment extracted from the Indigofera plant, a dye that was highly prized in ancient civilizations. In the context of cannabis, “Indigo” is a creative nod to “Indica,” a strain celebrated for its sedative properties. While not a formal term in the cannabis lexicon, “Indigo” captures the essence of relaxation and calmness that Indica strains are known for. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and innovate, the term #6excludeGlossary remains a popular choice among connoisseurs who value a serene and laid-back experience. For further reading on the evolution of indigo and its cultural impact, consider visiting [Harvard’s resources](https://harvard.edu).
Indigo is a term used for a number of hues in the region of blue. The word comes from the ancient dye of the same name. The term "indigo" can refer to the color of the dye, various colors of fabric dyed with indigo dye, a spectral color, one of the seven colors of the rainbow as described by Isaac Newton, or a region on the color wheel, and can include various shades of blue, ultramarine, and green-blue. Since the web era, the term has also been used for various purple and violet hues identified as "indigo", based on use of the term "indigo" in HTML web page specifications.
| Indigo | |
|---|---|
 A piece of indigo plant dye from India, about 6 cm (2.5 in) square | |
| Spectral coordinates | |
| Wavelength | 420–450 nm |
| Frequency | ≈714–670 THz |
 Color coordinates | |
| Hex triplet | #4000FF |
| sRGBB (r, g, b) | (64, 0, 255) |
| HSV (h, s, v) | (255°, 100%, 100%) |
| CIELChuv (L, C, h) | (35, 133, 268°) |
| Source | CIECAM16 248:2022 |
| ISCC–NBS descriptor | Vivid purplish blue |
| B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte) | |
The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word indicum, meaning "Indian", as the naturally based dye was originally exported to Europe from India.
The Early Modern English word indigo referred to the dye, not to the color (hue) itself, and indigo is not traditionally part of the basic color-naming system.
The first known recorded use of indigo as a color name in English was in 1289. Due to the extensive knowledge of indigo cultivation by enslaved West Africans, indigo became a major cash crop in the American colonies.
Newton regarded indigo as a color in the visible spectrum, as well as one of the seven colors of the rainbow: the color between blue and violet; however, sources differ as to its actual position in the electromagnetic spectrum. Later scientists have concluded that what Newton called "blue" was what is now called cyan or blue-green; and what Newton called "indigo" was what is now called blue.
In the 1980s, programmers produced a somewhat arbitrary list of color names for the X Window computer operating system, resulting in the HTML and CSS specifications issued in the 1990s using the term "indigo" for a dark purple hue. This has resulted in violet and purple hues also being associated with the term "indigo" since that time.
Because of the Abney effect, pinpointing indigo to a specific hue value in the HSV color wheel is elusive, as a higher HSV saturation value shifts the hue towards blue. However, on the new CIECAM16 standard, the hues values around 290° may be thought of as indigo, depending on the observer.
English
Etymology
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.
Pronunciation
- (UK) enPR: ĭn'dĭgō, IPA(key): /ˈɪn.dɪˌɡəʊ/
