Emily Dickinson Lexicon

INK, n. [D. inkt; Fr. encre. Qu. It. inchiostro, from inchiudere, L. includo.]

1. A black liquor or substance used for writing, generally made of an infusion of galls, copperas and gum-arabic.
2. Any liquor used for writing or forming letters, as red ink, &c.
3. A pigment. Printing ink is made by boiling lintseed oil, and burning it about a minute, and mixing it with lampblack, with an addition of soap and resin. Ink for the rolling press, is made with lintseed oil burnt as above, and mixed with Frankfort black. Indian ink, from China, is composed of lampblack, and size or animal glue. Nicholson. Sympathetic ink, a liquor used in writing, which exhibits no color or appearance till some other means are used, such as holding it to the fire, or rubbing something over it. Encyc