calico
/ˈkæ.lɪ.koʊ/noun, adjective
calico is spelled C-A-L-I-C-O: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, calico means “A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of calico is calicos or calicoes.
How many letters and syllables are in calico?
| Letters | 6: C-A-L-I-C-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is calico?
Calico appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce calico?
- UK /ˈkæ.lɪ.kəʊ/
- US /ˈkæ.lɪ.koʊ/
Calico has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-calico.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of calico
- calicos plural
- calicoes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does calico mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.
- 2
Ellipsis of calico cat.
- 3
The plant disease caused by Tobacco mosaic virus.
adjective
- 1
Made of calico or resembling the color of calico cloth, having a pattern of red and contrasting areas; variegated.
The calico cat had distinctive red and dark markings.
- 2
Having red, brunette, and blond hair colors, resembling the fur of a calico cat.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Calico in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | calicot , calico, tricolore |
| German | Kattun, Kaliko |
| Portuguese | calicó, calicô , gato tricolor |
| Spanish | calicó , gato calicó |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does calico come from?
From Calicut, from where the cloth was originally exported, from Malayalam കോഴിക്കോട് (kōḻikkōṭŭ, “Kozhikode”), from കോഴി (kōḻi, “palace”) + കോട് (kōṭŭ, “fortified palace”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).