gingham
Americannoun
noun
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."
Vocabulary lists containing gingham
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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Our Town
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But "when I'm with Hyodol, I never get hurt", she said, holding the cuddly doll with pigtails and a pink gingham dress, provided by her local municipality.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Three-year-old Agatha Acker, in a cute gingham outfit and gas mask, brought along her doll, Betty Lou, also tricked out in a pretty dress, and a gas mask.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
The crowd in the dining room was a mix of older and younger, but most people were dressed on the preppy side in gingham and Ralph Lauren.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2024
If so, you might remember classmates who constructed move-in ready mini kingdoms kitted out with gingham curtains, clothespin people and actual pieces of spaghetti.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
At the door I paused; the place was already full, jammed with vets in loose gray shirts and trousers and women in short, tight-fitting, stiffly starched gingham aprons.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
