gingham

American  

[ging-uhm] / ˈgɪŋ əm /

noun

1. yarn-dyed, plain-weave cotton fabric, usually striped or checked.

---

gingham British  

/ ˈɡɪŋəm /

noun

1. textiles

   1. a cotton fabric, usually woven of two coloured yarns in a checked or striped design

   2. ( as modifier )

      a gingham dress

---

Etymology

Origin of gingham

1605–15; < Dutch gingang < Malay gəŋgaŋ, giŋgaŋ with space between, hence, striped

Explanation

Checked cotton cloth is called gingham. If you're planning on eating lunch at the beach, you might want to bring your gingham picnic blanket — and plenty of sunscreen. When you see the cheerful checked pattern of gingham fabric, it probably makes you think of curtains in homey kitchen windows, your grandma's tablecloth, or little girls' summer dresses trimmed in rickrack. Most gingham is patterned with small checks of white and one other color. The word comes, via the Dutch gingang, from a Malay word that means "striped."

Example Sentences

Lennett did note that the top-selling “Barbie” movie item for those last two weeks of July was the Barbie Gingham Dress followed by the Ken Doll Set.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 12, 2023

Gingham was everywhere, including at Prabal Gurung and at Coach, where it was blown up to mega proportions in a Bonnie-Cashin-meets-skate-style combo.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2021

Gingham was the winner in a last-to-first performance over the five-horse field.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2020

Gingham and prints of island life added girlish charm to the relaxed shapes, which included pieces like pinafores, low-slung shorts and men's style shirts.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2012

Back in Tennessee a passel of scientists makes what this yere relative of Enright's deescribes as a 'Theological Survey' of some waste land he has on Gingham Mountain, an' finds coal.

From Faro Nell and Her Friends Wolfville Stories by Dunton, W. Herbert