khaki

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a dull yellowish-brown color or sturdy cloth, especially as used for military uniforms

   The soldiers wore dusty khaki in the summer heat.

Simplified etymology

Khaki entered English in the mid-19th century through Urdu khākī, meaning “dust-coloured,” from Persian khāk, “dust.” The dull brownish-yellow cloth was first used for British military uniforms in India during the 1840s.

Borrowed from Hindustani خاکی (xākī) / ख़ाकी (xākī), from Classical Persian خَاکِی (xākī, “dusty, earthy, earth-colored”). Noun sense 5 was coined in reference to the colour of the uniform of British troops during the Second Boer War; compare rooinek.

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External links

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