NANKEEN

nankeen

(noun) a durable fabric formerly loomed by hand in China from natural cotton having a yellowish color

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

nankeen (countable and uncountable, plural nankeens)

A type of cotton cloth originally from Nanking in China.

Source: Wiktionary


Nan*keen", n. Etym: [So called from its being originally manufactured at Nankin, in China.] [Written also nankin.]

1. A species of cloth, of a firm texture, originally brought from China, made of a species of cotton (Gossypium religiosum) that is naturally of a brownish yellow color quite indestructible and permanent.

2. An imitation of this cloth by artificial coloring.

3. pl.

Definition: Trousers made of nankeen. Ld. Lytton. Nankeen bird (Zoöl.), the Australian night heron (Nycticorax Caledonicus); -- called also quaker.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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