Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Isatis tinctoria

Isatis tinctoria

9.9
A European plant that grows for two years and whose leaves make blue dye
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : isatis tinctoria
  • The leaves of Isatis tinctoria were once an important source of blue dye in medieval Europe.

Examples

  • The leaves of Isatis tinctoria are used to produce a natural blue dye.

  • Farmers no longer cultivate Isatis tinctoria for dye, but it remains of interest to historians.

  • Botanists studied the characteristics of Isatis tinctoria to understand its natural pigment production.

  • Have you ever seen Isatis tinctoria growing in the wild?

  • The leaves of Isatis tinctoria were once an important source of blue dye in medieval Europe.

  • The leaves of Isatis tinctoria are used to produce a natural blue dye.

  • Farmers no longer cultivate Isatis tinctoria for dye, but it remains of interest to historians.

Synonyms

dyer's woad
vsIsatis tinctoria
  • UK
9.9

A European plant grown for blue dye from its leaves

is the formal botanical name for that identical plant
woad
vsIsatis tinctoria
  • Specialized
9.9

A yellow-flowered plant once grown for a blue dye

refers specifically to the European biennial cultivated for blue dye

Surface Forms

Isatis tinctoria singular
Isatis tinctorias plural

Morphology

Isatis + tinctoria

This is a scientific binomial composed of a genus name ('Isatis') and a species epithet ('tinctoria') whose element 'tinct-' relates to dyeing; together they denote the dye-producing plant (woad). If a learner knows the constituent elements (and their dye-related senses), the overall meaning is directly compositional and predictable rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Isatis tinctoria takes its name from the word tinctoria, which comes from Latin and is linked to 'dyeing'. People once used the plant's leaves to make a strong blue dye called 'woad', so the name shows it was a plant used for making dye.