Well attestedNamed for a product of the place
calico
noun · first attested 16th century
The print cloth is named for Kozhikode, once called Calicut.
A plain cotton cloth, often printed; also a piebald cat.
Record
- Relationship
- Named for a product of the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 16th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Kozhikode
- Step 2
Calicut
- In English
calico
English calico comes from Calicut, the colonial name for Kozhikode on the Malabar Coast, a port for Indian cottons. The place-name became a cloth word, then a cat pattern.
India
All 16 entries 15 more words from India
bungalowThe house type is named for Bengal.BengaldoolallyThe word for losing it comes from a transit camp in Maharashtra.DeolalidumdumThe bullet is named for an arsenal near Kolkata.Dum DumdungareesThe work clothes are usually traced to a district of Mumbai.DongrijodhpursThe riding trousers are named for a city in Rajasthan.JodhpurmadrasThe checked cotton carries the old name of Chennai.ChennaiindigoThe dye is named for the country it was shipped from.IndiaBangaloreThe demolition charge carries the old spelling of Bengaluru.Bengaluru