Light brown or tan-colored cotton pants or clothing, originally used as military uniforms in colonial India.
From Urdu/Persian 'khaki' meaning 'dust-colored.' British soldiers in India adopted this practical color for uniforms in the 1850s. The term spread from military to casual fashion.
Khaki started as a practical choice for British soldiers in dusty India, but it became such a standard that today the color itself feels quintessentially preppy and middle-class American.
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