nankeen

[ nan-keen ]

/ nænˈkin /

noun

a firm, durable, yellow or buff fabric, formerly made from a natural-colored Chinese cotton.

a twilled material made from other cotton and dyed in imitation of this fabric.

nankeens, garments made of this material.

a yellow or buff color.

Also called Nankeen porcelain, Nanking china, Nanking ware. a type of Chinese porcelain having blue ornament on a white ground.

Nearby words

nanga parbat, nanhai, nanism, nanite, nanjing, nankeen, nankeen lily, nanking, nanling, nanna, nanning

Also nan·kin

[nan-kin] /ˈnæn kɪn/.

Origin of nankeen

1745–55; after Nankin Nanking, where first made

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nankeen

Such a quantity of nankeen for the ground, and the loveliest chintz for the centre medallion!
Deerbrook|Harriet Martineau
Scarlet and nankeen were the colours chiefly favoured for the spring costume of the exquisites of the period.
Art in England|Dutton Cook
The so-called "Nankeen" cottons are said to be "Colour variations" of the herbaceous Cotton plant.
The Story of the Cotton Plant|Frederick Wilkinson
His nankeen small clothes were tied with 16 strings at each knee .
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony|George Francis Dow

The child was further attired in a nankeen frock and spencer, brown boxing-gloves, and a veil.
The Uncommercial Traveller|Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for nankeen

nankeen

nankin (ˈnænkɪn)

/ (næŋˈkiːn) /

noun

a hard-wearing buff-coloured cotton fabric

a pale greyish-yellow colour
(as adjective)a nankeen carpet

Word Origin for nankeen

C18: named after Nanking, China, where it originated

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 nankeen

nankeen

kind of cotton cloth, 1755, from Nanking, China, where it originally was made.