batik

Or bat·tik

[buh-teek, bat-ik]

noun

1. a technique of hand-dyeing fabrics by using wax as a dye repellent to cover parts of a design, dyeing the uncovered fabric with a color or colors, and dissolving the wax in boiling water.

2. the fabric so decorated.

verb (used with object)

1. to hand-dye (material) using the technique of batik.

batik

/ ˈbætɪk /

noun

1. 1. a process of printing fabric in which parts not to be dyed are covered by wax

   2. fabric printed in this way

   3. ( as modifier )

      a batik shirt

Word History and Origins

Origin of batik¹

First recorded in 1875–80, batik is from the Javanese word baṭik

Word History and Origins

Origin of batik¹

C19: via Malay from Javanese: painted

Example Sentences

In the early 1970s, she opened a business, China Seas, which imported intricately dyed batik fabrics from Indonesia.

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Robinson was still in her pajamas — a pink Indian batik printed with cats; fabulous — and paused to roll up the shades and welcome room service.

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But BINhouse, her fashion house, has become a global force in spreading batik’s beauty.

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Some of the finest fabrics BINhouse sells, including batik applied to silk, take more than a year to make by hand and cost thousands of dollars.

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Musk, who is chief executive of both companies, appeared lit by candles, wearing a batik shirt sent by the organisers and said he was speaking from a place that had just lost power.

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