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.

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Also nan·kin

[nan-kin] /ˈnæn kɪn/.

Origin of nankeen

1745–55; after Nankin Nanking, where first made

Words nearby nankeen

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences 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