chintz

[chints]

noun

a printed cotton fabric, glazed or unglazed, used especially for draperies.
a painted or stained calico from India.

Origin of chintz

1605–15; earlier chints, plural of chint < Gujarati chī̃ṭ

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chintz

Historical Examples of chintz

Besides, I have no fancy for that ferret-faced Chintz becoming one of our party.
The Hound From The North
Ridgwell Cullum
“Take this plug and give him a rub down, Chintz,” said Iredale.
The Hound From The North
Ridgwell Cullum
But what would Chirsty be doin' gettin' the chintz an' the fender in that case?
A Window in Thrums
J. M. Barrie
Pen had achieved the homelike with some chintz hangings and a rug.
Still Jim
Honor Willsie Morrow
And my two nieces are next door, I see, as gay as chintz can make them.
The Light of Scarthey
Egerton Castle

British Dictionary definitions for chintz

chintz

noun

a printed, patterned cotton fabric, with glazed finish
a painted or stained Indian calico

Word Origin for chintz

C17: from Hindi chīnt, from Sanskrit citra gaily-coloured

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

Word Origin and History for chintz

1719, plural of chint (1610s), from Hindi chint, from Sanskrit chitra-s "clear, bright" (cf. cheetah). The plural (the more common form of the word in commercial use) became regarded as singular by late 18c., and for unknown reason shifted -s to -z; perhaps after quartz. Disparaging sense, from the commonness of the fabric, is first recorded 1851 in George Eliot (in chintzy).