houndstooth

What it means

1. countableuncountableA two-colour fabric pattern of broken checks.

   Sophisticated houndstooth checks highlight a toddler's jacket and hat.

   2004, Lois S. Young, “Houndstooth Toddler Set”, in Jeanne Stauffer, editor, Knitting in the Round, Berne, Ind.: House of White Birches, →ISBN, page 56

   2 more examples

   Other patterns include varied adaptations of paisleys, Tree of Life motifs, tiles, scenics, patchworks, ticking, soft-edge geometries, sports themes, crewel shapes, houndsteeth, and a plethora of florals.

   1974, Interior Design, volume 45, New York, N.Y.: Interior Design Division of Whitney Communication Corp., →OCLC, page 251, column 1

   A houndstooth fabric is composed of tiny, interlocking pinwheel motifs. There are many houndstooth knitting patterns[…]; to add an extra touch to these patterns, work them in nubby or textured yarns.

   1998, Deborah Newton, “Dressmaker Details & Finishing”, in Designing Knitwear, Newtown, Ct.: Taunton Press, →ISBN, page 210

2. countableuncountableFabric with a houndstooth pattern; an item of clothing made with such fabric.

   Her dress is wool too, brown and black houndsteeth that belonged to her mother.

   2014, Jacinda Townsend, “Jupiter”, in Saint Monkey: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 68

   1 more example

   Their ties were tidier, their houndsteeth toothier … they ended up looking more Windsorian than Windsor.

   1970, Men's Wear, volume 161, New York, N.Y.: Fairchild Publications, →OCLC, page 73, column 1

3. countableuncountableHound's tongue, a plant of species Cynoglossum officinale

In a sentence

Other patterns include varied adaptations of paisleys, Tree of Life motifs, tiles, scenics, patchworks, ticking, soft-edge geometries, sports themes, crewel shapes, houndsteeth, and a plethora of florals.

1974, Interior Design, volume 45, New York, N.Y.: Interior Design Division of Whitney Communication Corp., →OCLC, page 251, column 1

Where it comes from

From hound + -s- + tooth, from its appearance. Although the pattern itself is archaeologically found from time immemorial, the modern term is first attested in 1936.