Indian

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In British English an Indian is first and foremost a native or national of India. In the American context its use arose from the mistaken belief of Columbus and other voyagers who reached the east coast of America in the 15th century and 16th century that they had reached India by a new route. Indian and Red Indian are now regarded as old-fashioned and inappropriate, and more reminiscent of stereotypical images of the Wild West than of contemporary America. American Indian, or preferably Native American, should be used instead.

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Origin: 1602

Columbus started it. When he found land after sailing westward across the Atlantic, he thought he had succeeded in his "Enterprise of the Indies," arriving at the distant part of the world that included Japan, China, and India. So naturally he called the inhabitants indios, or in English, Indians.

Who was to say any different? It took quite a while before Europeans could think the unthinkable, that an enormous continent stood between them and the Indies. Meanwhile, Indian became established as the name for the people of the continent.

A century later, it was established among English explorers too. We find an example as early as 1602, when speakers of English set foot for the first time on what would later be known as New England (1616). In the summer of that year, a ship with two dozen "gentlemen" and eight crew members visited and named Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard and settled briefly on another island before returning to England with a precious cargo of sassafrass. In their report, published that fall, they follow the lead of Columbus in referring to the native inhabitants as Indians, as for example, "We saw manie Indians, which are tall big boned men."

But by then Columbus's geographical mistake had been recognized and corrected. The land was known as America, not India. Why were the inhabitants still called Indians?

Perhaps because it was still the best available choice. While Indian was a mistake, it was respectful, almost worshipful, to the Europeans who imagined the exotic Indies. A name could be chosen from the hundreds of original languages spoken on this continent, but to choose a word from one Indian language would be to exclude the others. And American would not do because it was used for everyone born on this continent, regardless of ancestry.

Of course Native American has gained a large following in recent years, but it has the same problem as American: a literal meaning that can apply to everyone born here. And First Nations, a term now widely used in Canada, gives no sense of place. Despite periodic objections from those who prefer Native American, both Indian and American Indian remain accepted and popular, especially in view of their continued use by Indians themselves. This is one mistake that seems to have been inspired.

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as in: Native American
sign description: The F-hand is moved up the side of the face.

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See Native American.

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See words rhyming with "Indian."

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - indisk, indiansk
n. - inder, indianer

idioms:

• indian club    gymnastikklub
• indian corn    majs
• indian file    gåsegang, enkeltkolonne
• indian giver    giver med den ene hånd og tager med den anden
• indian ink    tusch
• indian summer    eftersommer, opblomstring

Nederlands (Dutch)
Indiaan, Indiër, Indiaans, Indiaas

Français (French)
adj. - indien, amérindien
n. - Indien, Amérindien, Indien d'Amérique, (Ling) indien

idioms:

• indian club    massue
• indian corn    (US) maïs
• indian file    file indienne
• indian giver    (US) personne qui reprend son cadeau (péj)
• indian ink    encre de chine
• indian summer    été indien

Deutsch (German)
n. - Indianer, Inder
adj. - indianisch, indisch

idioms:

• indian club    Keule
• indian corn    Mais
• indian file    Gänsemarsch
• indian giver    Person, die erst ein Geschenk macht und es dann zurückverlangt
• indian ink    Tusche
• indian summer    Altweibersommer, Nachsommer

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - Ινδιάνος, ερυθρόδερμος, Ινδός
adj. - ινδιάνικος, ινδικός

idioms:

• indian club    κορύνη (γυμναστικό όργανο)
• indian corn    αραβόσιτος, καλαμπόκι
• indian file    (στρατ.) φάλαγγα κατ' άνδρα
• indian giver    αυτός που κάνει υστερόβουλο δώρο
• indian ink    σινική μελάνη
• indian summer    γαϊδουροκαλόκαιρο

Italiano (Italian)
indiano

idioms:

• indian club    clava (da ginnastica)
• indian corn    granturco
• indian file    fila indiana
• indian giver    chi presta qualcosa e se la fa subito ridare
• indian ink    inchiostro di china
• indian summer    estate di San Martino

Português (Portuguese)
n., -
adj. - índio (m)

idioms:

• indian club    maça (f) de ginástica
• indian corn    milho (m)
• indian file    fila (f) indiana
• indian giver    pessoa (f) que toma presente de volta
• indian ink    tinta (f) nanquim
• indian summer    os últimos dias quentes do outono

Русский (Russian)
индиец, индеец, индийский, индейский

idioms:

• indian club    булава
• indian corn    кукуруза
• indian file    колонна по одному
• indian giver    тот, кто ничего не дает просто так
• indian ink    тушь
• indian summer    Бабье лето

Español (Spanish)
adj. - indio, indiano, índico
n. - indio, indígena, lengua india

idioms:

• indian club    maza de gimnasia
• indian corn    maíz
• indian file    fila india
• indian giver    persona que hace un regalo y luego pide que le sea devuelto
• indian ink    tinta china
• indian summer    veranillo de San Martín o del membrillo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - indier, indian, indianska (språk)
adj. - indisk, indiansk

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
印第安, 印度的, 印度群岛的, 印第安的, 印度人, 印第安人

idioms:

• indian club    体操用之瓶状棒
• indian corn    玉蜀黍
• indian file    一路纵队, 单行
• indian giver    送东西给人日后又讨回的人
• indian ink    墨汁
• indian summer    小阳春, 愉快的晚年, 回春

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 印度的, 印度群島的, 印第安的
n. - 印第安, 印度人, 印第安人

idioms:

• indian club    體操用之瓶狀棒
• indian corn    玉蜀黍
• indian file    一路縱隊, 單行
• indian giver    送東西給人日後又討回的人
• indian ink    墨汁
• indian summer    小陽春, 愉快的晚年, 回春

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 인도의, 인디언의
n. - 인도 사람, 인디언

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - インドの, インド人の, インディアンの
n. - インド人, インディアン, アメリカインディアン

idioms:

• indian club    インディアンクラブ
• indian corn    トウモロコシ
• indian file    一列縦隊
• indian giver    返礼目当てで物を与える人
• indian ink    墨, 墨汁
• indian summer    インディアンサマー, 小春日和, 穏やかな時期

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) شخص هندي (صفه) هندي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮הודי, אינדיאני, של הודו, של האינדיאנים‬
n. - ‮הודי, אינדיאני, שפה אינדיאנית‬

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