nankeen

[ nan-keen ]

/ nænˈkin /

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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.

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Also nan·kin

[nan-kin]. /ˈnæn kɪn/.

Origin of nankeen

1745–55; after NankinNanking, where first made

Words nearby nankeen

Nanga Parbat, Nanhai, nanism, nanite, Nanjing, nankeen, nankeen lily, Nanking, Nan Ling, Nanna, Nanning

How to use nankeen in a sentence

The service very smart: six men-servants, chestnut livery in winter, nankeen livery in summer.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet
He was a tall, spare man, dressed in nankeen jacket and trousers, with a large-brimmed straw-hat upon his head.
Newton Forster|Captain Frederick Marryat
The Nankeen coloured and the black are the greatest favourites.
The Book of Sports:|William Martin
His nankeen trousers were freshly pressed, and his blue frock-coat looked as if it had come straight from the tailor.
The Precipice|Ivan Goncharov

She also saw with surprise that his nankeen trousers were stained, as if he had been kneeling on damp ground.
Studies in love and in terror|Marie Belloc Lowndes

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