Plural of calico; cotton fabrics with a colored pattern printed on white or light-colored background, or cats with patches of different colors.
From Calicut (modern Kozhikode), a port city in India famous for exporting cotton cloth. European traders imported this patterned cloth starting in the 17th century. The word entered English via Portuguese 'Calecut.'
Calico traveled the entire world before it traveled the dictionary—Indian merchants created the cloth, Portuguese traders brought it to Europe, and now most people know it as that tricolor cat pattern.
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