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madder

madder

7 9.9
A plant from Europe and Asia with red roots used to make red dye
  • noun
  • /ˈmædər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : rubia
  • In traditional dyeing processes, the madder plant was essential for obtaining the rich color of alizarin.
  • rose madder
  • madder and alizarin
  • red madder

Examples

  • The artist used madder to create vibrant red hues in her paintings.

  • The roots of madder were traditionally harvested for their ability to produce a vivid red dye.

  • Intrigued, Belchier fed madder to a rooster, and its bones turned red as well.

    Academic text (2010)
  • The natural I dyed with madder, goldenrod, and goldenrod overdyed with madder.

    Blog text (7)
  • Belchier's host, a dyer, had fed his pig bran-refuse containing madder, an ancient vegetable dye.

    Academic text (2010)

Synonyms

Rubia tinctorum
vsmadder
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant that lives for many years with small yellow flowers and red roots used to make red dye

is the common English name used in general writing

Compounds

madder family
  • Specialized
8.4

A group of mostly tropical plants like coffee and gardenia

9.9

A creeping plant whose roots make red dye for cloth

9.9

A plant with clusters of small white flowers

9.9

A plant from Europe and Asia with many small white flowers that grows in North America

Surface Forms

madder singular
madders plural

Etymology

The word madder comes from an old European name for a plant whose thick roots were used to make a strong 'red' dye for cloth, so think of its deep red roots when you meet the word.