madder
UK/ˈmæd.ə(ɹ)//ˈmæd.ɚ/
madder noun: a herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root. Also the comparative form of mad.
Noun
madder (countable and uncountable, plural madders)
- A herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root.
- 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...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...
- Synonyms:
- common madder, dyer's madder
- The root of the plant, used as a medicine or a dye.
- A dye made from the plant.
- 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
- A deep reddish colour, like that of the dye.
- Her big head has coloured to a dim and dreadful madder.1946, Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan
Adjective
madder (not comparable)
- Of a deep reddish purple colour, like that of the dye.
Verb
madder (third-person singular simple present madders, present participle maddering, simple past and past participle maddered)
- To dye with madder.
Also used as
madder is also the comparative form of mad.
madder is also the obsolete form of mether.
madder is also the eye dialect spelling of matter.
madder meaning in Arabic, Indonesian and Persian
madder in Arabic
- plant
- فُوَّة صَبْغِيَّة, فُوَّة fuwwa
madder in Indonesian
- colour
- beranang
madder in Persian
- plant
- روناس ronâs
- colour
- روناسی ronâsi
Synonyms of madder
Forms of madder
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | madders |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | madders |
| present participle | maddering |
| past participle | maddered |
| past | maddered |
Origin of madder
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”).
Inflected forms.
Borrowed from Irish meadar.
Words formed from madder
- blue field madder
- brown madder
- capucine madder
- common madder
- crimson madder
- dyer's madder
- field madder
- flowers of madder
- Indian madder
- madder crimson
- madder family
- madder lake
- madder orange
- madder rose
- madder scarlet
- madderwort
- maddery
- madder yellow
- orange madder
- pink madder
- Rembrandt's madder
- rose madder
- Rubens' madder
- scarlet madder
- white madder
- wild madder
Phrases with madder
Words that rhyme with madder
Questions about madder
- What does madder mean?
- Madder means a herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root.
- What is madder in Arabic?
- Madder in Arabic is فُوَّة صَبْغِيَّة, فُوَّة (fuwwa). See Madder meaning in Arabic.
- What part of speech is madder?
- Madder can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce madder?
- Madder is pronounced /ˈmæd.ə(ɹ)/ (UK).
- What is the plural of madder?
- The plural of madder is madders.
Words near madder in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: madder (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
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Cite this entry: “madder.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/madder. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.