nankeen

[ nan-keen ]

/ nænˈkin /

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noun

a firm, durable, yellow or buff fabric, formerly made from a natural-colored Chinese cotton.

a twilled material made from other cotton and dyed in imitation of this fabric.

nankeens, garments made of this material.

a yellow or buff color.

Also called Nankeen porcelain, Nanking china, Nanking ware . a type of Chinese porcelain having blue ornament on a white ground.

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Also nan·kin

[nan-kin]. /ˈnæn kɪn/.

Origin of nankeen

1745–55; after NankinNanking, where first made

Words nearby nankeen

Nanga Parbat, Nanhai, nanism, nanite, Nanjing, nankeen, nankeen lily, Nanking, Nan Ling, Nanna, Nanning

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nankeen in a sentence

The service very smart: six men-servants, chestnut livery in winter, nankeen livery in summer.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet
He was a tall, spare man, dressed in nankeen jacket and trousers, with a large-brimmed straw-hat upon his head.
Newton Forster|Captain Frederick Marryat
The Nankeen coloured and the black are the greatest favourites.
The Book of Sports:|William Martin
His nankeen trousers were freshly pressed, and his blue frock-coat looked as if it had come straight from the tailor.
The Precipice|Ivan Goncharov

She also saw with surprise that his nankeen trousers were stained, as if he had been kneeling on damp ground.
Studies in love and in terror|Marie Belloc Lowndes

British Dictionary definitions for nankeen

nankeen

nankin (ˈnænkɪn)

/ (næŋˈkiːn) /

noun

a hard-wearing buff-coloured cotton fabric

a pale greyish-yellow colour
(as adjective)a nankeen carpet

Word Origin for nankeen

C18: named after Nanking, China, where it originated

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012