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Webster 1913 Edition


Calico

Cal′i-co

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Calicoes
(#)
.
[So called because first imported from
Calicut
, in the East Indies: cf. F.
calicot
.]
1.
Plain white cloth made from cotton, but which receives distinctive names according to quality and use,
as, super
calicoes
, shirting
calicoes
, unbleached
calicoes
, etc.
[Eng.]
The importation of printed or stained
colicoes
appears to have been coeval with the establishment of the East India Company
Beck (Draper’s Dict. ).
.
2.
Cotton cloth printed with a figured pattern.
☞ In the United States the term calico is applied only to the printed fabric.
Calico bass
(Zool.)
,
an edible, fresh-water fish (
Pomoxys sparaides
) of the rivers and lake of the Western United States (esp. of the Misissippi valley.), allied to the sunfishes, and so called from its variegated colors; – called also
calicoback
,
grass bass
,
strawberry bass
,
barfish
, and
bitterhead
.
Calico printing
,
the art or process of impressing the figured patterns on calico.

Cal′i-co

,
Adj.
Made of, or having the appearance of, calico; – often applied to an animal, as a horse or cat, on whose body are large patches of a color strikingly different from its main color.
[Colloq. U. S.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Calico

CALICO

,
Noun.
[said to be from Calicut, in India.] Cotton cloth. In England, white or unprinted cotton cloth is called calico. In the United States, calico is printed cotton cloth, having not more than two colors. I have never heard this name given to the unprinted cloth. Calico was originally imported from India, but is now manufactured in Europe and the United States.

Definition 2024


calico

calico

See also: calicò

English

Noun

calico (plural calicos or calicoes)

  1. A kind of rough cloth, often printed with a bright pattern.
  2. A cat with fur of the colors black, white and orange.

Translations

Adjective

calico

  1. Having a pattern of red and contrasting areas, resembling the color of calico cloth.
    The calico cat had distinctive red and dark markings.
    The calico-patterned tablecloths were supposed to make the restaurant look rustic; instead, they made it look run down.

Synonyms

Translations

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