nankeen

American  

[nan-keen] / nænˈkin /

Also nankin

noun

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

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

3. nankeens, garments made of this material.

4. a yellow or buff color.

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

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nankeen British  

/ ˈnænkɪn, næŋˈkiːn /

noun

1. a hard-wearing buff-coloured cotton fabric

2. 1. a pale greyish-yellow colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a nankeen carpet

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Etymology

Origin of nankeen

1745–55; after Nankin Nanking, where first made

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nankeen

When Francie spoke to him, he folded his hands in the wide sleeves of his nankeen shirt coat and kept his eyes on the ground.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Captain Beare had brought him a bolt of nankeen and a silk kerchief every year since 1793, when Mr. Dolph gave him credit for the timber of which the Ursa Minor was built.

From The Story of a New York House by A. B. (Arthur Burdett) Frost

The eggs are generally of a pale yellow, or nankeen color, not remarkably large, compared with the size of the fowl, and generally blunt at the ends.

From Sheep, Swine, and Poultry Embracing the History and Varieties of Each; The Best Modes of Breeding; Their Feeding and Management; Together with etc. by Robert Jennings

In point of colour the black and nankeen varieties are the best.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3 Atrebates to Bedlis by Various

Even his conspicuous dress--a short, black-velvet coat trimmed with braid, yellow nankeen trousers, and a red-silk kerchief knotted loosely around his throat--was becoming.

From The Romance of the Canoness A Life-History by Paul Heyse