A.Word.A.Day --nankeen

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nankeen or nankin

PRONUNCIATION:

(nan-KEEN or nan-KIN)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A yellow or buff color.
2. A sturdy yellow or buff cotton fabric.
3. (nankeens) Trousers made of this cloth.
4. A Chinese porcelain having blue designs on a white background.

ETYMOLOGY:

After Nanking, a city in China, where it was first made, now spelled as Nanjing. Nanjing is literally "southern capital". Beijing means "northern capital".

USAGE:

"A bright, laughing face ... a traveling-dress of a nankeen color ... such were the characteristics of our fair guest."
Wilkie Collins; The Queen of Hearts: A Novel; BiblioLife; 2009.

See more usage examples of nankeen in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry. -John Webster, playwright (c. 1580-1634)

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