Chintz
/tʃɪnts/noun
A glazed cotton fabric printed with colorful patterns, originally from India.
Did you know?The word entered English through Portuguese and Hindi from a South Asian term for spotted or variegated cloth, showing how textile trade carried not just goods but words across empires.
Etymological Timeline
Sanskrit / Old Indo-Aryan
Skt
citra
“spotted, bright, variegated, colorful”
Hindi / Urdu
Hindustani
cīṭ
“a printed or spotted cloth”
17th Century
Portuguese
chita
“printed cotton cloth from India”
17th Century
English
chintz
“printed cotton fabric, especially from India”
Modern English
English
chintz
“a glazed printed cotton fabric; also, by extension, something gaudy or overly decorated”
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