kameez
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of kameez
Urdu kamis , from Arabic qamīs
Explanation
The long shirt that's worn by many people in India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan is called a kameez. Both men and women traditionally wear the kameez. A kameez fits like a tunic, long and fairly slim, and can have either a traditional, rounded collar, or a Western-style collar. If you wear a kameez in India, you can pair it with jeans, or with salwar (also called shalwar) — pajama-like pants. This typically Indian outfit is referred to as salwar kameez. The word kameez comes from the Arabic Qameez.
Vocabulary lists containing kameez
The Breadwinner
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Aru Shah and the End of Time
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Amina's Voice
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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.
It’s about a beautiful sari or a salwar kameez, some light outfit for a puja, because you have to sit for a long time.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
In Monfalcone, Italians in Western clothes mingle with Bangladeshis wearing shalwar kameez and hijabs.
From BBC • Sep. 5, 2024
Forty-year-old Dilaram, who goes by one name, has already been hard at work with fellow logger Sanaullah for six hours under the fierce summer sun, and their shalwar kameez are soaked through with sweat.
From Scientific American • Apr. 26, 2023
His impeccable grooming was at odds with the mismatched socks peeking from beneath his shalwar kameez.
From Salon • Dec. 15, 2022
Naima pulled the white ribbon from under the sleeve of her salwar kameez.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
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.
