woad

Woad, n. Etym: [OE. wod, AS. wad; akin to D. weede, G. waid, OHG. weit, Dan. vaid, veid, Sw. veide, L. vitrum.] [Written also wad, and wade.] 1. (Bot.) Defn: An herbaceous cruciferous plant (Isatis tinctoria). It was formerly cultivated for the blue coloring matter derived from its leaves. 2. A blue dyestuff, or coloring matter, consisting of the powdered and fermented leaves of the Isatis tinctoria. It is now superseded by indigo, but is somewhat used with indigo as a ferment in dyeing. Their bodies . . . painted with woad in sundry figures. Milton. Wild woad (Bot.), the weld (Reseda luteola). See Weld. -- Woad mill, a mill grinding and preparing woad.

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