calico

[ kal-i-koh ]

noun

, plural cal·i·coes, cal·i·cos.

1. a plain-woven cotton cloth printed with a figured pattern, usually on one side.
2. British. plain white cotton cloth.
3. an animal having a spotted or particolored coat.
4. Obsolete. a figured cotton cloth from India.

adjective

1. made of calico.
2. resembling printed calico; spotted or mottled.

calico

/ ˈkælɪˌkəʊ /

noun

1. a white or unbleached cotton fabric with no printed design
2. a coarse printed cotton fabric
3. modifier made of calico

Word History and Origins

Origin of calico¹

1495–1505; short for Calico cloth, variant of Calicut cloth, named after city in India which originally exported it

Word History and Origins

Origin of calico¹

C16: based on Calicut, town in India

Example Sentences

The curious calico and her orange tomcat friend, Monu, had recently been sterilized and returned to the market.

From Salon

Meet Zia, my dilute calico who enjoys chasing droplets of water in the tub and lying flat on her back, like a fluffy rug in a log cabin.

From Los Angeles Times

Perhaps you’ll be asked to act in a moving-picture show, participate in a mustache contest, take a drawing class, help a gang rob a bank or inspire a bashful Calico resident to ask a lady to the afternoon hoedown.

From Los Angeles Times

Apparently Buttons had been dropping, well, buttons, throughout the fictional town of Calico.

From Los Angeles Times

Annabelle Pancake, 11, right, of Anaheim, plays a Calico Gazette reporter interviewing a postal worker, played by Rachel Roman.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cotton
• goods
• material
• stuff