calico

plural calicos · plural calicoes · alternative archaic callico

1. countableuncountablebusinessA 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

   1 more example

   Trussed in corsets, jawbone-high collars and calicos that had seen better days, they have little enough to work with, their attempts at coquetry further constrained by their rigid mores of the day.

   2017 June 30, Ruth La Ferla, “In ‘The Beguiled,’ Pretty Confections Whipped Up to Seduce”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

2. abbreviationcountableellipsisEllipsis 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. abbreviationcountableellipsisEllipsis of calico grouper.
4. countableA goldfish having metallic transparent scales.
5. countableAny butterfly of the genus Hamadryas.
6. uncountablebiologyThe plant disease caused by Tobacco mosaic virus.
7. countableuncountableA phlox of genus Loeseliastrum.

alternative archaic callico

1. not comparableMade 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.

   2 more examples

   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, “Sara”, in Desire

   Synonyms: tortoiseshell

   1. not comparableHaving red, brunette, and blond hair colors, resembling the fur of a calico cat.

      Synonyms: tortoiseshell