I. ˈmadə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English madder, mader, from Old English mædere; akin to Middle Dutch mēde madder, Old High German matara, Old Norse mathra madder, and perhaps to Polish modry dark blue, Czech modrý blue
1. : any of several herbs of the genus Rubia ; especially : a Eurasian herb ( Rubia tinctorum ) with verticillate leaves and small yellowish panicled flowers succeeded by berries
2.
a. : the root of the madder plant used formerly in dyeing chiefly because of its content of alizarin in the form of the glycoside ruberythric acid
b. : a dye prepared from this root but later replaced by synthetic alizarin — compare garancine , turkey red 1a
II. “, ˈmaad-, ˈmaid-
comparative of mad
III. ˈmadə(r) noun
or meth·er ˈmethə-
( -s )
Etymology: Irish Gaelic meadar churn, madder
: a square wooden drinking cup used in Ireland