woad
woad — 名詞
1. a tall plant with small yellow flowers that grows naturally in Europe and parts
菘藍
可提煉藍色染料的植物
a tall plant with small yellow flowers that grows naturally in Europe and parts of Asia. People grow it for its leaves, which produce a bright blue colour when processed for dyeing cloth.
In the Middle Ages, woad was one of the most valuable crops in parts of France and Germany.
中世紀時，菘藍在法國與德國部分地區是最有價值的農作物之一。
woad was … a valuable crop (historical usage context)
Mira learned to recognise woad by its clusters of tiny yellow flowers and long pointed leaves.
Mira 學會透過成簇的黃色小花和細長的葉子來辨認菘藍。
The local farmer grows several varieties of woad and sells the dried leaves to natural-dye artists.
當地農夫種植了幾種不同的菘藍，並將乾燥的葉子賣給天然染料藝術家。
Farmers grow woad for its leaves, which can be turned into a bright blue dye for colouring cloth.
農夫種植菘藍是為了它的葉子，這些葉子可以轉化為染布用的亮藍色染料。
The museum's herb garden includes woad, madder, and other plants used for colouring fabric long ago.
博物館的香草園裡種有菘藍、茜草以及其他古人用來染色的植物。
- Isatis tinctoria
scientific name; used in botanical writing
- pastel
old French-derived name for the woad plant, now mostly historical
用法筆記
Countable use (e.g. 'a woad', 'several woads') is rare and typically appears only in botanical or agricultural descriptions of individual plants. In most contexts the word is uncountable.
常見錯誤
2. a bright blue colouring substance obtained from the leaves of the woad plant. In
菘藍染料
從菘藍葉取得的藍色染料
a bright blue colouring substance obtained from the leaves of the woad plant. In ancient and medieval times people used it to colour fabric, paint their skin, and create inks.
The ancient Britons used woad to paint blue patterns on their bodies before battle, according to Roman writers.
根據羅馬作家的記載，古不列顛人在打仗前會用菘藍染料在身上畫出藍色圖案。
used woad to paint … on their bodies
Mathieu spent the weekend dyeing woollen scarves with woad in his studio.
Mathieu 整個週末都在他的工作室裡用菘藍染料染羊毛圍巾。
dyeing … with woad
Natural woad gives a softer, less uniform blue than the synthetic indigo used in most modern jeans.
天然的菘藍染料所呈現的藍色比現代牛仔褲所用的合成靛藍更柔和，也不那麼均勻。
The dark blue woad on the medieval fabric had not faded despite being buried for over six hundred years.
這塊中世紀布料上的深藍色菘藍染料雖然埋在地下超過六百年，卻絲毫沒有褪色。
Textile historians studied how woad was extracted, fermented, and turned into a usable dye.
紡織史學家研究了菘藍染料是如何被萃取、發酵並轉化為可使用的染料的。
- indigo
a similar but chemically distinct blue dye; indigo replaced woad in trade from the 17th century
用法筆記
Woad is nearly always uncountable when referring to the dye itself. To refer to a specific type or batch, use a partitive such as 'a batch of woad' or 'a type of woad'.