pekin

¹ American  

[pee-kin] / ˈpiˈkɪn /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. a silk fabric in which broad stripes of equal width and in various colors or weaves are alternated.

---

Pekin ² American  

[pee-kin] / ˈpiˈkɪn /

noun

1. one of a hardy breed of yellowish-white domestic ducks, raised originally in China.

---

Pekin ³ American  

[pee-kin] / ˈpi kɪn /

noun

1. a city in central Illinois.

---

Pekin British  

/ piːˈkɪn /

noun

1. a breed of white or cream duck with a bright orange bill

---

Etymology

Origin of pekin¹

First recorded in 1775–85; from French pékin; after Peking

Origin of Pekin²

First recorded in 1880–85; after Peking

Example Sentences

Her childhood was marked by a prophecy, proclaimed to her in Liberian English: “Ma, de pekin wa’na easy oh.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 9, 2017

She cannot say it shust pe vorts, or tat tere pe much of ta sense in it; but it pe fery like what ta pabes will say pefore tey pekin to speak it properly.

From Malcolm by MacDonald, George

One of the queerest friendships that ever came under my observation was that which existed between a bantam cock and a pekin drake.

From The Dawn of Reason or, Mental Traits in the Lower Animals by Weir, James

He was, perhaps, discontented at being put in communication with a pekin, and thought that Lord Steyne should have sent him a Colonel at the very least.

From Vanity Fair by Thackeray, William Makepeace

If pekin and bayad�re stripes are combined, we obtain checked fabrics, and of these an endless variety and pleasing effects can be produced with the aid of suitable color combinations.

From Theory of Silk Weaving A Treatise on the Construction and Application of Weaves, and the Decomposition and Calculation of Broad and Narrow, Plain, Novelty and Jacquard Silk Fabrics by Wolfensberger, Arnold