nainsook

[ neyn-sook, nan- ]

noun
  1. a fine, soft-finished cotton fabric, usually white, used for lingerie and infants' wear.

Origin of nainsook

1
1780–90; <Urdu, Hindi nainsukh, equivalent to nain the eye + sukh pleasure

Words Nearby nainsook

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use nainsook in a sentence

  • She wore a white duck skirt, a soft nainsook blouse open at the throat, the sailor collar knotted with a red silk scarf.

    Peggy Stewart at School | Gabrielle E. Jackson
  • She wore a frock of white embroidered nainsook and a leghorn covered with white feathers.

    The Californians | Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
  • The framework and ribs were made entirely of Riga pine; the surface fabric was nainsook.

    A History of Aeronautics | E. Charles Vivian
  • I should get them to do it for me on soft fine nainsook, and make a speciality of summer morning gowns and children's frocks.

    Notwithstanding | Mary Cholmondeley
  • They decide to use nainsook and to trim them with German valenciennes lace.

    Clothing and Health | Helen Kinne

British Dictionary definitions for nainsook

nainsook

/ (ˈneɪnsʊk, ˈnæn-) /


noun
  1. a light soft plain-weave cotton fabric, used esp for babies' wear

Origin of nainsook

1
C19: from Hindi nainsukh, literally: delight to the eye, from nain eye + sukh delight, from Sanskrit sukha

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012