indole

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: in=dole

CIDE DICTIONARY

indole, n. [Indigo + -ol of phenol.].

 A white, crystalline substance, C8H7N, obtained from blue indigo, and almost all indigo derivatives, by a process of reduction; chemically, it is 2,3-benzopyrrole, a bicyclic heterocyclic compound, having a benzene ring fused to a pyrrole ring. It is also formed from proteinaceous matter, together with skatol, by putrefaction, and by fusion with caustic potash, and is present in human excrement, as well as in the intestinal canal of some herbivora. It is produced in rich growth media by the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

indole, n. Chem. an organic compound with a characteristic odour formed on the reduction of indigo.

Etymology

INDIGO + L oleum oil