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gingham

[ging-uh m]
noun
  1. yarn-dyed, plain-weave cotton fabric, usually striped or checked.
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Origin of gingham

1605–15; < Dutch gingang < Malay gəŋgaŋ, giŋgaŋ with space between, hence, striped
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gingham

Historical Examples

  • The hands with which she tied a white apron over her gingham one were shaking.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • He led her in, glancing at her gingham dress, a little puzzled.

    The Vagrant Duke

    George Gibbs

  • The gingham dress in which she worked every morning was also hanging on its hook.

    In Apple-Blossom Time

    Clara Louise Burnham

  • The gingham morning-gown she had not changed was huddled on her, and crumpled about her.

  • The jackets were made of the Irish gingham I brought from home.

British Dictionary definitions for gingham

gingham

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
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Word Origin

C17: from French guingan, from Malay ginggang striped cloth
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 gingham

n.

1610s, from Dutch gingang, traders' rendering of a Malay word said to be ginggang "striped," used as a noun with the sense of "striped cotton." Cf. French guingan, Spanish guinga, Italian gingano, German gingang.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper