calico
a plain-woven cotton cloth printed with a figured pattern, usually on one side.
British. plain white cotton cloth.
an animal having a spotted or particolored coat.
Obsolete. a figured cotton cloth from India.
made of calico.
resembling printed calico; spotted or mottled.
Origin of calico
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use calico in a sentence
Women had come in bright-hued calicoes and sun-bonnets, and bearded, gaunt men in hodden-gray.
The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville BuckA very adhesive paste is made from it, and it is also used extensively to stiffen calicoes and other cotton goods.
Harper's Young People, June 21, 1881 | VariousUse the glue for calicoes, and the gum for silks and muslins, both to be mixed with water, at discretion.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy | Catherine Esther BeecherBeef's-gall, one spoonful to two pailfuls of suds, improves calicoes.
A Treatise on Domestic Economy | Catherine Esther BeecherShe wore head handkerchiefs of bright colors, and her purple calicoes were stiff with starch and spotlessly neat.
The Pleasant Street Partnership | Mary F. Leonard
British Dictionary definitions for calico
/ (ˈkælɪˌkəʊ) /
a white or unbleached cotton fabric with no printed design
mainly US a coarse printed cotton fabric
(modifier) made of calico
Origin of calico
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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