Madder | n. [ OE. mader, AS. maedere; akin to Icel. maðra. ] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Rubia (Rubia tinctorum). The root is much used in dyeing red, and formerly was used in medicine. It is cultivated in France and Holland. See Rubiaceous. [ 1913 Webster ] ☞ Madder is sometimes used in forming pigments, as lakes, etc., which receive their names from their colors, such as madder yellow. [ 1913 Webster ] Field madder, an annual European weed (Sherardia arvensis) resembling madder. -- Indian madder , the East Indian Rubia cordifolia, used in the East for dyeing; -- called also munjeet. -- Wild madder, Rubia peregrina of Europe; also the Galium Mollugo, a kind of bedstraw. [ 1913 Webster ]
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