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calico Definition

cali·co (kali kō′)

noun pl. calicoes -·coes′ or calicos -·cos′

  1. Archaic a kind of cotton cloth from India
    1. a printed cotton fabric
    2. Brit. a heavy, white cotton cloth
  2. a cat with a mottled coat of black, brown, yellow or orange, etc.

Etymology: after Calicut, where it was first obtained

adjective

  1. of calico
  2. spotted like some calico cloth
calico Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • white: His costume otherwise was simple enough, consisting merely of a small kilt of white calico.
  • unbleached: Gym Bags Made from strong unbleached calico these gym bags make lovely and practical parting gifts for children who are going to school.
  • strong: After some hours place the ball of amalgam in a piece of strong new calico and squeeze out any surplus mercury.
  • old: And don't go about women in that old calico.

Modifies a noun

  • printing: His father, Andrew, then 32, was a chemist with a calico printing company.
  • printer: By the early 1820s the works seem to have become a calico printers, the mill being renamed Hodge Print Works in 1826.
  • bag: Photo of a calico bag It is always better to first reduce the number of plastic bags you use.
  • print: In 1828 he joined with two other young men to start a company selling calico prints in London.
  • cloth: This may be a simple calico cloth banner with lettering large enough to be seen from the top of a passing bus.

Noun used with modifier

  • cotton: Hand woven from soft colored and textured natural straw, they have lovely leather handles and practical cotton calico linings.
  • printing: His business in Darwen eventually turned from printing calico to printing wallpaper, a tradition that has continued to the present day.

Browse dictionary entries near calico

  1. calicle
  2. caliche
  3. calices
  4. calibre
  5. calibrator
  6. calibration
  7. calibrating
  8. calibrated
  9. calibrate
  10. caliber
  1. calico bass
  2. calico bush
  3. calico cat
  4. calicoback
  5. calicoes
  6. calicos
  7. Calicut
  8. calif
  9. califate
  10. California