calico

[ kal-i-koh ]
See synonyms for calico on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. an animal having a spotted or particolored coat.

  2. Obsolete. a figured cotton cloth from India.

adjective
  1. made of calico.

  2. resembling printed calico; spotted or mottled.

Origin of calico

1
1495–1505; short for Calico cloth, variant of Calicut cloth, named after city in India which originally exported it

Words Nearby calico

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

How to use calico in a sentence

  • Eloise said, drawing her well foot under the spotted calico, and wishing the young men would go.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes
  • It will add ever so much to our fun—everybody I know simply loves and envies me my darling 'calico' pony!

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond

British Dictionary definitions for calico

calico

/ (ˈkælɪˌkəʊ) /


nounplural -coes or -cos
  1. a white or unbleached cotton fabric with no printed design

  2. mainly US a coarse printed cotton fabric

  1. (modifier) made of calico

Origin of calico

1
C16: based on Calicut, town in India

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