DCHP-1 Online
Indian ((n.)) † 
1a n. any member of the Mongoloid aboriginal stock of America, including legally, the Eskimos. Also dial. Injin, Injun.
- 1576 (1889) So that it plainely appeareth that those Indians (which as you haue heard in sundry ages were driuen by tempest vpon the shore of Germanie) came onely through our Northwest passage.
- 1711 (1920) At Lorett which makes ye Little River of Quebeck about Four Leagues From sd Town, is an Indian Town, about fifty men.
- 1856 "Difficult to say, monsieur. Perhaps Injins, though I thought there were none here just now. . . ."
- 1962 North American Indians number more than 500,000: 180,000 in Canada, more than half of whom live in B.C., Saskatchewan, and Ontario, and 350,000 in the U.S. . . .
1b n. See registered Indian 1964 quote.
See also: registered Indian
- 1965 Those whose names are in a register kept by the federal Indian Affairs Branch are officially Indians; others are not. If your father had Indian status your name goes on the list, but you can apply to have it removed. The Indians have special rights.
- 1966 An Indian is defined in law as any person registered with the Indian Affairs Branch as an Indian. . . .
2 n. any of the various aboriginal languages spoken by Indians.
- 1717 (1932) I send Wm Stewart to be Assistant to my Depty In case he Should doo otherways than well, their not being a Man their as Understandeth one Word of Indian.
- 1852 (1923) Indian, till after he knew your people, never swore--no bad word in Indian.
- 1958 Although [the sisters] are French and the children speak Indian, English is the language of the school.
3 n. Indians, a children ' s game in which one group plays the part of Indians on the warpath, another group playing their adversaries, often "cowboys. "
- 1902 He organized the game of "Injuns," some of the boys being set apart as settlers who were to defend the fort . . . the rest to constitute the invading force of savages.
4 n. Slang a person prone to fighting and getting into trouble; a wild-tempered, undisciplined fellow.
- c1914 (1916) . . . among the college crowd he was known as an "Indian," a reputation which was well enough in college fights and differences with authorities but detrimental to his prospects with the faculty.
5 n. Slang a heavy sweater of gray, unbleached wool, knitted by the Cowichan Indians of southern Vancouver Island, distinguished by symbolic designs, originally black and white, now sometimes multi-colored.
See also: Cowichan (Indian) sweater
- 1945 To-day there is scarcely a man, woman or child who does not own his "Indian".
- 1576 (1889) So that it plainely appeareth that those Indians (which as you haue heard in sundry ages were driuen by tempest vpon the shore of Germanie) came onely through our Northwest passage.