A type of printed cotton fabric with a simple pattern, originating from the city of Calicut (modern Kozhikode) in India; also spelled calico.
Named after Calicut (Kozhikode), a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India that was famous for exporting cotton textiles to Europe from medieval times onward. The word entered European languages through trade contacts with Indian merchants.
This word is a geographical passport—it traveled from India to Europe along spice trade routes, and the fabric itself became so popular that the city's name is still embedded in the textiles we wear today, a linguistic souvenir of colonial commerce.
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