calico

Etymology

From Calicut, in India, from where the cloth was originally exported, from Malayalam കോഴിക്കോട് (kōḻikkōṭŭ, “Kozhikode”), from കോഴി (kōḻi, “palace”) + കോട് (kōṭŭ, “fortified palace”), with ‘y’ replaced by interchangeable ‘zh’.

noun

1. (textiles) A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.
   This helix was covered with calico, and then a second wire applied in the same manner. 1832, Michael Faraday, “Experimental Researches in Electricity”, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, volume 122, →DOI, →JSTOR, page 126
2. (countable, zoology) Ellipsis of calico cat.
   One of them, a calico whose half-grown kittens he just fed, slow-blinks at him, an affectionate gesture. 2022, N. K. Jemisin, The World We Make, Orbit, page 111
3. (uncountable) The plant disease caused by Tobacco mosaic virus.

adj

1. Made of calico or resembling the color of calico cloth, having a pattern of red and contrasting areas; variegated.
   The calico cat had distinctive red and dark markings.
   The calico-patterned tablecloths were supposed to make the restaurant look rustic; instead, they made it look run down.
   Sara, oh Sara / Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress 1976, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Sara”, in Desire