The story
- Classical Persian · derived fromخَاکِی“dusty, earthy, earth-colored”
- Hindustani · borrowed from
- English todaykhaki
Borrowed from Hindustani خاکی (xākī) / ख़ाकी (xākī), from Classical Persian خَاکِی (xākī, “dusty, earthy, earth-colored”). Noun sense 5 was coined in reference to the colour of the uniform of British troops during the Second Boer War; compare rooinek.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.