Plural of aal; an East Indian shrub that produces an indigo dye, or instances of this plant.
From Hindi 'āl' or Sanskrit 'āla,' referring to the indigo plant. The word entered English through trade routes and colonial contact in South Asia, used by merchants trading in dyes.
Indigo dye was so valuable historically that it shaped global trade and colonialism—Europeans couldn't figure out how to grow it at home, so they conquered indigo-producing regions and enslaved people to harvest it. This one plant word connects to centuries of exploitation.
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