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Webster 1913 Edition

Nankeen

Nan-keen′

,
Noun.
[So called from its being originally manufactured at
Nankin
(Nanjing), in China.]
[Written also
nankin
.]
1.
A species of cloth, of a firm texture, originally brought from China, made of a species of cotton (
Gossypium religiosum
) that is naturally of a brownish yellow color quite indestructible and permanent.
2.
An imitation of this cloth by artificial coloring.
3.
pl.
Trousers made of nankeen.
Ld. Lytton.
Nankeen bird
(Zool.)
,
the Australian night heron (
Nycticorax Caledonicus
); – called also
quaker
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Nankeen

NANKEEN

,
Noun.
[Nankin a Chinese word.] A species of cotton cloth of a firm texture, from China, now imitated by the manufacturers in Great Britain.

Definition 2024

nankeen

nankeen

English

Noun

nankeen ‎(plural nankeens)

  1. A type of cotton cloth originally from Nanking in China.
    • He put on over his shirt his wife's wadded nankeen jacket, and over that he put his own cloth coat. — Leo Tolstoy, What Men Live By and Other Tales, translated by L. and A. Maude
    • She was a poor widow, and her little boy, clad in a sorry-looking little nankeen jacket, looked thoroughly crushed and intimidated. — Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Christmas Tree and the Wedding

Derived terms

  • nankeen heron
  • nankeen kestrel
  • nankeen night heron

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