Calico
//ˈkæ.lɪ.kəʊ// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern. countable, uncountable
"This helix was covered with calico, and then a second wire applied in the same manner."
- 2 coarse cloth with a bright print wordnet
- 3 Ellipsis of calico cat. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis
"One of them, a calico whose half-grown kittens he just fed, slow-blinks at him, an affectionate gesture."
- 4 The plant disease caused by Tobacco mosaic virus. uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Made of calico or resembling the color of calico cloth, having a pattern of red and contrasting areas; variegated. not-comparable
"The calico cat had distinctive red and dark markings."
- 2 Made of calico or resembling the color of calico cloth, having a pattern of red and contrasting areas; variegated.; Having red, brunette, and blond hair colors, resembling the fur of a calico cat. not-comparable
Adjective
- 1 having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly wordnet
- 2 made of calico or resembling calico in being patterned wordnet
Example
More examples"The gingham dog and the calico cat Side by side on the table sat."
Etymology
From Calicut, from where the cloth was originally exported, from Malayalam കോഴിക്കോട് (kōḻikkōṭŭ, “Kozhikode”), from കോഴി (kōḻi, “palace”) + കോട് (kōṭŭ, “fortified palace”).
Related phrases
More for "calico"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.