gingham

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a lightweight cotton fabric woven from dyed and white yarn, typically in checks

   She chose lilac gingham for a simple summer dress.

2. 2
   noun

   a garment made from gingham

   Her everyday gingham was cooler than the heavy wool dress.

Borrowed in the seventeenth century, probably from Malay genggang, 'striped' or 'set apart,' though an old association with the Breton town of Guingamp has also been proposed. Early gingham could be striped or plain; the familiar checked pattern became dominant in Britain and North America.

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