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Indian file   /ˈɪndiən faɪl/   Listen
noun
File  n.  
1.
An orderly succession; a line; a row; as:
(a)
(Mil.) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; in contradistinction to rank, which designates a row of soldiers standing abreast; a number consisting the depth of a body of troops, which, in the ordinary modern formation, consists of two men, the battalion standing two deep, or in two ranks. Note: The number of files in a company describes its width, as the number of ranks does its depth; thus, 100 men in "fours deep" would be spoken of as 25 files in 4 ranks.
(b)
An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence or classified for preservation and reference; as, files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings English files to the 15th instant.
(c)
The line, wire, or other contrivance, by which papers are put and kept in order. "It is upon a file with the duke's other letters."
(d)
A roll or list. "A file of all the gentry."
2.
Course of thought; thread of narration. (Obs.) "Let me resume the file of my narration."
3.
(computers) A collection of data on a digital recording medium treated as a unit for the purpose of recording, reading, storage, or indexing; such a file is typically accessible by computer programs by the use of a file name. The data may be of any type codable digitally, such as simple ASCII-coded text, complex binary-coded data, or an executable program, or may be itself a collection of other files.
File firing, the act of firing by file, or each file independently of others.
File leader, the soldier at the front of any file, who covers and leads those in rear of him.
File marching, the marching of a line two deep, when faced to the right or left, so that the front and rear rank march side by side.
Indian file, or Single file, a line of people marching one behind another; a single row. Also used adverbially; as, to march Indian file.
On file, preserved in an orderly collection; recorded in some database.
Rank and file.
(a)
The body of soldiers constituting the mass of an army, including corporals and privates.
(b)
Those who constitute the bulk or working members of a party, society, etc., in distinction from the leaders.


adjective
Indian  adj.  
1.
Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies, or, sometimes, to the West Indies.
2.
Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.
3.
Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian meal, Indian bread, and the like. (U.S.)
Indian bay (Bot.), a lauraceous tree (Persea Indica).
Indian bean (Bot.), a name of the catalpa.
Indian berry. (Bot.) Same as Cocculus indicus.
Indian bread. (Bot.) Same as Cassava.
Indian club, a wooden club, which is swung by the hand for gymnastic exercise.
Indian cordage, cordage made of the fibers of cocoanut husk.
Indian cress (Bot.), nasturtium. See Nasturtium, 2.
Indian cucumber (Bot.), a plant of the genus Medeola (Medeola Virginica), a common in woods in the United States. The white rootstock has a taste like cucumbers.
Indian currant (Bot.), a plant of the genus Symphoricarpus (Symphoricarpus vulgaris), bearing small red berries.
Indian dye, the puccoon.
Indian fig. (Bot.)
(a)
The banyan. See Banyan.
(b)
The prickly pear.
Indian file, single file; arrangement of persons in a row following one after another, the usual way among Indians of traversing woods, especially when on the war path.
Indian fire, a pyrotechnic composition of sulphur, niter, and realgar, burning with a brilliant white light.
Indian grass (Bot.), a coarse, high grass (Chrysopogon nutans), common in the southern portions of the United States; wood grass.
Indian hemp. (Bot.)
(a)
A plant of the genus Apocynum (Apocynum cannabinum), having a milky juice, and a tough, fibrous bark, whence the name. The root it used in medicine and is both emetic and cathartic in properties.
(b)
The variety of common hemp (Cannabis Indica), from which hasheesh is obtained.
Indian mallow (Bot.), the velvet leaf (Abutilon Avicennae). See Abutilon.
Indian meal, ground corn or maize. (U.S.)
Indian millet (Bot.), a tall annual grass (Sorghum vulgare), having many varieties, among which are broom corn, Guinea corn, durra, and the Chinese sugar cane. It is called also Guinea corn. See Durra.
Indian ox (Zool.), the zebu.
Indian paint. See Bloodroot.
Indian paper. See India paper, under India.
Indian physic (Bot.), a plant of two species of the genus Gillenia (Gillenia trifoliata, and Gillenia stipulacea), common in the United States, the roots of which are used in medicine as a mild emetic; called also American ipecac, and bowman's root.
Indian pink. (Bot.)
(a)
The Cypress vine (Ipomoea Quamoclit); so called in the West Indies.
(b)
See China pink, under China.
Indian pipe (Bot.), a low, fleshy herb (Monotropa uniflora), growing in clusters in dark woods, and having scalelike leaves, and a solitary nodding flower. The whole plant is waxy white, but turns black in drying.
Indian plantain (Bot.), a name given to several species of the genus Cacalia, tall herbs with composite white flowers, common through the United States in rich woods.
Indian poke (Bot.), a plant usually known as the white hellebore (Veratrum viride).
Indian pudding, a pudding of which the chief ingredients are Indian meal, milk, and molasses.
Indian purple.
(a)
A dull purple color.
(b)
The pigment of the same name, intensely blue and black.
Indian red.
(a)
A purplish red earth or pigment composed of a silicate of iron and alumina, with magnesia. It comes from the Persian Gulf. Called also Persian red.
(b)
See Almagra.
Indian rice (Bot.), a reedlike water grass. See Rice.
Indian shot (Bot.), a plant of the genus Canna (Canna Indica). The hard black seeds are as large as swan shot. See Canna.
Indian summer, in the United States, a period of warm and pleasant weather occurring late in autumn. See under Summer.
Indian tobacco (Bot.), a species of Lobelia. See Lobelia.
Indian turnip (Bot.), an American plant of the genus Arisaema. Arisaema triphyllum has a wrinkled farinaceous root resembling a small turnip, but with a very acrid juice. See Jack in the Pulpit, and Wake-robin.
Indian wheat, maize or Indian corn.
Indian yellow.
(a)
An intense rich yellow color, deeper than gamboge but less pure than cadmium.
(b)
See Euxanthin.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Indian file" Quotes from Famous Books



... turn, he found it a very difficult place to get down in the semi-darkness, and two or three times he almost lost his footing. As soon as all were down they fell into Indian file, and crossed the valley to the rock, the chief giving the hoot of an owl twice as he approached it. Three men at once stepped out from the bushes ...
— In The Heart Of The Rockies • G. A. Henty
... soon after moonrise, they came. Stealthily, though there was little need of stealth, they crept, Indian file, around the branchy edges of the fields, through the wet, sweet-smelling thickets. The hunter's fever was upon them, fierce and furtive. They came to the corn-field—to find that the raccoons had paid their visit, made their meal, and got ...
— The Watchers of the Trails - A Book of Animal Life • Charles G. D. Roberts
... foot on the heights in front of the locality where now stands the dwelling, having climbed up the hill by the ruisseau St. Denis, heading the flank Company of the Lascelles or 47th Regiment. General Wolfe made the main body of the army march up, Indian file, by a pathway which then existed where the high road is at present. At the head of this path may yet be seen the remains of the French entrenchments, occupied on that day by a militia guard of 100 men, chiefly Lorette militiamen, a portion ...
— Picturesque Quebec • James MacPherson Le Moine
... leeward. It was only an instant; for again his eyes seemed whirling round in his head as he swept the watery circle. The breeze now freshened; the sea began to swell. The birds! —the birds! cried Tashtego. In long Indian file, as when herons take wing, the white birds were now all flying towards Ahab's boat; and when within a few yards began fluttering over the water there, wheeling round and round, with joyous, expectant cries. Their vision was keener than ...
— Moby-Dick • Melville
... enjoyable. We soon left the road, and took our way along a forest path in Indian file, our picturesque guide leading the way. The path came to an end before long, and we then followed the course of a little stream; but as it wound about in a most tortuous manner we were obliged to be continually crossing ...
— Round About the Carpathians • Andrew F. Crosse
... swelling hills, lovely valleys, and bright sparkling streams were the features of the landscape. But there was little animate life. Now and then a shout from the leader of the party (for, according to custom, we travelled Indian file) would call our attention to a herd of deer "loping," as the Westerners say, through the forest; or an additional spur would be given to the horses on the appearance of some small dark object, far distant on the trail before us. But the ...
— Wau-bun - The Early Day in the Northwest • Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzie
... the model of "master's," Old muskets were purchased, and Sheik Jumma had the glory to see during his reign the 1st, or Jumma's Own, rise to existence. A more ludicrous sight could not, I believe, be witnessed. About a hundred flat-nosed, woolly, grinning negroes march around the parade-ground in Indian file, out of step, for about ten minutes. Line is then formed, but not being as yet well up to the proper value of the words of command, half face on one side, half on the other. Still the crowd admires; white teeth are displayed from ear to ear. The yellow-eyed monsters now feel confident ...
— A Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia - With Some Account of the Late Emperor Theodore, - His Country and People • Henry Blanc
... In Indian file, they crept up on the house. Its outlines could now be seen, and in one window a ruddy glow from the lamp the two abductors of Roy had kindled. Evidently they had not yet ...
— The Girl Aviators' Sky Cruise • Margaret Burnham
... hesitating tap on the door was followed by the entrance of two men, both of whom, in general size, strength, and uncouthness, were ludicrously inconsistent with their diffident announcement. They proceeded in Indian file to the centre of the room, faced Mrs. Rightbody, acknowledged her deep courtesy by a strong shake of the hand, and, drawing two chairs opposite to her, sat down side ...
— The Twins of Table Mountain and Other Stories • Bret Harte
... want their four annas for a day's shouting, but do not know or care if a bear is in the neighbourhood, so, having planted the gun (and shikari with him), they proceed to beat after their own fashion, in other words to stroll, in Indian file, like geese across a common, along the line of least resistance, instead of spreading out and ...
— A Holiday in the Happy Valley with Pen and Pencil • T. R. Swinburne


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