Noun: madder
| Singular | madder |
| Plural | madders |
Sample Sentences
-
Madder (Rubia tinctorum). — This plant has a perennial root and an annual stalk. It is cultivated for the roots, which, after being dried and ground, are employed in considerable quantities in dying a fine red colour, and, likewise, as a first tint for several other shades. It is principally cultivated in Holland, the province of Zealand being almost entirely covered with it; from whence it is exported to every part of Europe and America, yielding almost incalculable profits. The imports of this article for the use of our manufactories is stated to amount in value to more than two millions of dollars annually. Our soil and climate are found to be well adapted to its culture, and some successful experiments have been made in raising it in the counties of Madison and Otsego [in New York State]. Madder does best in a deep rich sand-loam, moist but not wet. It requires three summers to come to perfection; and as the roots strike deep, the ground should be ploughed and mellowed to the depth of two and a half or three feet for its reception. Miller says it should be planted with a dibble (it is propagated by offsets from the roots), in rows from two to three feet apart; while Beechstein says they should be planted only six inches asunder. [1841, Jesse Buel, The Farmers' Instructor. Consisting of Essays, Practical Directions, and Hints for the Management of the Farm and the Garden. Originally Published in the Cultivator; Selected and Revised for the School District Library, volume 1, Harper and Brothers, page 213:]
-
Their armour was stained with madder, in such wise that they seemed bathed in blood. [1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 19:]
-
Her big head has coloured to a dim and dreadful madder. [1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan:]
Nouns inflected like madder
soldier's woundwort,
Nicosian,
whopper,
greypate,
tactile sign language,
chronotrope,
Rosie Lee,
dissentient,
photoinactivator,
sulphonediimine,
coastal waterfall,
residuary devise,
bituminization,
nitrosonaphthol,
smṛiti,
geosphere,
backscreen,
mensuralist,
flocculate,
flocculant, etc. (List truncated at 20 nouns)
Etymology
From Middle English mader, madere, mædere, from Old English mædere, mæddre, mædre, from Proto-Germanic *madarǭ (compare Swedish måra, Old Norse / Icelandic maðra), from Proto-Indo-European *modʰro-, cognate with Proto-Slavic *modrъ (“blue”), and compare Irish madar (“madder”), Latvian madara (“madder”). See: Middle English Nouns '
mader', Old English Nouns '
mædere', Swedish Nouns '
måra', Icelandic Nouns '
maðra', Irish Nouns '
madar', Latvian Nouns '
madara'.
Verbs referencing "madder"
Icelandic Nouns
maðra.