nankeen

[nan-keen]

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.

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

Historical Examples of nankeen

We have a picture of him at the age of five, in a nankeen frock and a frill.
Olive in Italy
Moray Dalton
The Nankeen coloured and the black are the greatest favourites.
The Book of Sports:
William Martin
Mr. Brandon wore a nankeen suit, and had a green veil in readiness.
Johnny Ludlow, Fourth Series
Mrs. Henry Wood
Ribbons are worn either clouded or striped; the latter are nankeen.
The Strand Magazine
Various
In point of colour the black and nankeen varieties are the best.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3
Various

British Dictionary definitions for nankeen

nankeen

nankin (ˈnænkɪn)

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

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