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,.  Also called Nankeen porcelain,.  Also called 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

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

‘Rather say, your Royal Highness, a sad stain upon my escutcheon,’ added Townsend, raising the gilt-buttoned tails of his blue coat and exhibiting the fruit-stained seat of his nankeen inexpressibles.”

From The Brighton Road The Classic Highway to the South by Harper, Charles G. (Charles George)

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 Frost, A. B. (Arthur Burdett)

I carry the long redingote, the scarlet waistcoat, the pantaloon of nankeen, and the umbrella, peculiar to the sons of Albion.

From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various

Everybody knew Jacob Dolph afar off by his blue coat with the silver buttons, his nankeen waistcoat, and his red-checked Indian silk neckcloth.

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