n. [ F. anil, Sp. anīl, or Pg. anil; all fr. Ar. an-nīl, for al-nīl the indigo plant, fr. Skr. nīla dark blue, nīlī indigo, indigo plant. Cf. Lilac. ] (Bot.) A West Indian plant (Indigofera anil), one of the original sources of indigo; also, the indigo dye. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. anilis, fr. anus an old woman. ] Old-womanish; imbecile. “Anile ideas.” Walpole. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Anility. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, anil; indigotic; -- applied to an acid formed by the action of nitric acid on indigo. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) One of a class of compounds which may be regarded as amides in which more or less of the hydrogen has been replaced by phenyl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Anil. ] (Chem.) An organic base belonging to the phenylamines. It may be regarded as ammonia in which one hydrogen atom has been replaced by the radical phenyl. It is a colorless, oily liquid, originally obtained from indigo by distillation, but now largely manufactured from coal tar or nitrobenzene as a base from which many brilliant dyes are made. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Made from, or of the nature of, aniline. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ n. [ Aniline + -ism. ] (Med.) A disease caused by chronic exposure to aniline; aniline toxicity. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + AS ]

n. [ L. anilitas. See Anile. ] The state of being an old woman; old-womanishness; dotage. “Marks of anility.” Sterne. [ 1913 Webster ]