gingham
(ˈgɪŋəm)
Also 7 gingam, 8 ginghem, guingam.
[a. F. guingan, guingamp = Sp. guinga, guingon, Pg. guingão, It. gingano, ghingano, guingano, Du. ging(g)ang, Ger., Da., Sw. gingang, ultimately a. Malay ginggang gingham, originally an adj. meaning ‘striped’. See C. P. G. Scott Malayan Words in English, 1897.]
1. A kind of cotton or linen cloth, woven of dyed yarn, often in stripes, checks, and other patterns. In pl. fabrics of this kind.
| 1615 Coppindall Let. in Cocks' Diary (Hakluyt Soc.) II. App. 272 Capt. Cock is of opinion that the ginghams, both white and browne..will prove a good commodity in the Kinge of Shashma his cuntry. 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2269/3 19176 pieces of divers sorts of Ginghams. 1727 W. Mather Yng. Man's Comp. 411 Ginghams, Taffaties, Beads of all sorts, Buckshawes. 1763 Brit. Mag. IV. 406 Ladies of taste are prodigiously fond of the Ginghams manufactured there [Manchester]. 1834 H. Martineau Farrers iv. 73 The quality of wear of a piece of gingham or calico. 18.. Thompson in J. G. Wilkinson Manners Anc. Egypt. (1837) III. 123 Had this pattern..been repeated across its whole breadth, it would have formed a modern gingham. 1858 Lytton What will He do i. vi, Only a little commonplace child in dingy gingham. |
2. colloq. An umbrella (properly, one covered with gingham).
| 1861 M. E. Braddon Trail Serpent i. vii, Mr. Peters..took immediate possession, by planting his honest gingham in a corner of the room. 1889 Sportsman 2 Feb. (Farmer), It would really put a premium on the many little mistakes of ownership concerning ginghams at present so common. |
| fig. 1884 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 422/2 The umbrella cannot be got to go up at the right moment, which seems to be generally the case with the Government ‘gingham’. |
3. attrib., as
gingham-frock,
gingham-manufacturer,
gingham-mill,
gingham-umbrella,
gingham-waistcoat.
| 1793 H. Boyd Indian Observer No. 14 ¶7 Even the ginghem waistcoats, which striped or plain have so long stood their ground, must I hear, ultimately give way to the stronger kerseymere. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg., Blasphemer's Warn., A good stout Taglioni and gingham umbrella. 1851 in Illustr. Lond. News (1854) 5 Aug. 118 Gingham manufacturer. 1853 E. S. Sheppard Ch. Auchester xi. (1875) 45 She wore a pink gingham frock, ill made to a degree. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Power Wks. (Bohn) II. 342 In the gingham-mill, a broken thread or a shred spoils the web through a piece of a hundred yards. |
Hence (
nonce-wds.)
ˈginghamed a., dressed in gingham;
ˈginghammy a., addicted to wearing gingham.
| 1831 J. Wilson Let. in Mem. (1859) iv. 136 All our other pets are well, both the feathered..and the ginghamed. 1856 Tait's Mag. XXIII. 215 Recommended to you by snubby seniors and ginghammy old maids. |