Wordalso written calico meaning, what does calico mean, calico cat, calico fabric, calico cloth

calico

Meaning

Calico is cotton cloth—plain heavy cotton in UK use, printed patterned cotton in US use—and, especially in American English, a cat with white plus black and orange (or diluted) patches; UK speakers often call that coat tortoiseshell and white.

Meanings of “calico”

  1. Cotton cloth: in British English, a heavy plain cotton fabric; in American English, cotton cloth with a printed pattern (often cheaper figured cotton historically tied to Indian trade).12

    Tone
    Neutral; common in fashion, quilting, and historical textile writing.
    Where you’ll see it
    Searches for calico meaning often hit fabric first. Cambridge splits UK heavy plain cloth vs US printed cotton. Merriam-Webster lists Indian-imported cotton, British plain white cotton heavier than muslin, and cheap figured cottons.

    Examples

    • She lined the tote with sturdy blue calico.
    • His jacket was striped calico.
    • The museum labeled the quilt as nineteenth-century printed calico.

    Examples are written for this site to show typical use. They are not quotes.

  2. Especially in US English, a cat whose coat mixes white with black and orange (or dilute blue and cream) in distinct patches—also called a calico cat; Cambridge notes the UK labels tortoiseshell and white / tortie and white.13

    Tone
    Everyday US pet talk; UK speakers may prefer tortoiseshell and white.
    Where you’ll see it
    What does calico mean for pet searchers is almost always the tri-color cat. TheCatSite defines classic calico as white, black, and orange/red with substantial white; less white shades into tortoiseshell. Calico is a color pattern, not a breed.

    Examples

    • We adopted a calico from the shelter.
    • A small calico cat sat on the windowsill.
    • In the UK that same white-black-orange coat is often called tortoiseshell and white.

Usage notes

  • Calico meaning in search usually splits fabric vs cat; add cloth/fabric or cat to disambiguate.
  • UK vs US fabric: Cambridge UK = heavy plain cotton; Cambridge US = printed patterned cotton.
  • UK vs US cats: US calico cat ≈ UK tortoiseshell and white (Cambridge). Pure orange-and-black mix with little or no white is usually called tortoiseshell (TheCatSite).
  • Almost all calico cats are female because the orange/black color genes sit on the X chromosome (TheCatSite genetics overview).

Origin

Etymonline: from the 1530s as kalyko cloth “white cotton cloth,” from an alternate form of Calicut (Kozhikode) on India’s Malabar coast where Europeans obtained the cloth; US printed-cotton sense from about 1800; animal colorings from 1807 (horses), cats from 1882. Merriam-Webster etymology points to Calicut, India, with first known use dated 1578 for a fabric sense.42

Sources

  1. calico — Cambridge Dictionary

    dictionary.cambridge.orgAccessed Back to text

    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/calico

  2. calico — Merriam-Webster

    merriam-webster.comAccessed Back to text

    https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calico

  3. The Complete Guide to Calico Cats — TheCatSite

    thecatsite.comAccessed Back to text

    https://thecatsite.com/c/calico-cats/

  4. calico — Online Etymology Dictionary

    etymonline.comAccessed Back to text

    https://www.etymonline.com/word/calico