Meanings
plural indoles
- chemistryAn organic compound, C₈H₇N, found in coal tar, and produced in the gut by the bacterial decomposition of tryptophan; it is an aromatic bicyclic heterocycle having a benzene ring fused with a pyrrole ring; indole and its derivatives occur widely in nature and have many industrial applications.
The Aspidosperma alkaloids are the largest group of indole alkaloids.
1990, Song Liu, Syntheses of Aspidosperma Alkaloids, page 21 more example
Intakes of indoles or their parental glucosinolates, may have beneficial health effects as well as toxicological effects.
1999, Lars Ove Dragsted, Naturally Occurring Antitumourigens, page 41Synonyms: ketole
- chemistryAny of the derivatives of indole.
comparative more indole · superlative most indole
- obsoleteguileless
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn organic compound, C₈H₇N, found in coal tar, and produced in the gut by the bacterial decomposition of tryptophan; it is an aromatic bicyclic heterocycle having a benzene ring fused with a pyrrole ring; indole and its derivatives occur widely in nature and have many industrial applications.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-Iranian*síndʰuš
- Sanskritसिन्धु॑ (síndhu)
- Old Persian𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hiⁿdūš)
- Ancient GreekἸνδός (Indós)
- Ancient GreekἸνδία (Indía)
- Ancient GreekἸνδικός (Indikós)
- LatinIndicu
- Spanishíndico
- Spanishíndigo
- Portugueseendego
- Spanishíndigo
- Dutchindigo
- Englishind(igo)
- Proto-Hellenic*élaiwon
- Ancient Greekἔλαιον (élaion)
- Latinole(um)
- Englishindole
From ind(igo) + Latin ole(um) (“oil”); see -ole.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans indool
- indoolorganic compound
Arabic إندول
- إندولorganic compound
Catalan indole
- indoleorganic compound
Chinese Cantonese 吲哚
- 吲哚 (jan⁵ do²)organic compound
Chinese Mandarin 吲哚
- 吲哚 (yǐnduǒ)organic compound
Danish indol
- indolorganic compound
Dutch indool
- indoolorganic compound
Esperanto indolo
- indoloorganic compound
Finnish indoli
- indoliorganic compound
French indole
- indoleorganic compound
German Indol
- Indolorganic compound
Hungarian indol
- indolorganic compound
Indonesian indol
- indolorganic compound
Italian indolo
- indoloorganic compound
Japanese インドール
- インドール (indōru)organic compound
Korean 인돌
- 인돌 (indol)organic compound
Norwegian Bokmål indol
- indolorganic compound
Persian ایندول
- ایندولorganic compound
Polish benzopirol, indol
- benzopirolorganic compound
- indolorganic compound
Portuguese indol
- indolorganic compound
Romanian indol
- indolorganic compound
Russian индо́л
- индо́л (indól)organic compound
Spanish indol
- indolorganic compound
Swedish indol
- indolorganic compound
Thai อินโดล
- อินโดลorganic compound
Ukrainian індол
- індол (indol)organic compound
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
indole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indole
“indole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indole. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “indole,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indole.
Source: indole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.