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A.Word.A.Day--batik

batik (buh-TEEK, BAT-ik) noun

1. A technique of dyeing fabrics that involves covering parts of it with wax, dyeing the exposed part and then removing the wax with boiling water.

2. A fabric dyed with this method.

[From Javanese batik (painted).]

"The center, according to her would be used to train children in batik and tie dye making as well as basketry." Rachael Amakye; Gov't Supports Women; Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra, Ghana); Sep 5, 2003.

"The batik cotton dresses she wore were the color of the sun in a child's drawing, and her neighbors could always spot her coming from several blocks away." Kevin Brockmeier; The Brief History of the Dead; New Yorker; Sep 8, 2003.

This week's theme: words originating in Southeast Asian countries.

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