# calico

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkæ.lɪ.kəʊ/ · frequency rank #33,552

## Definitions
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.

## Etymology
From Calicut, from where the cloth was originally exported, from Malayalam കോഴിക്കോട് (kōḻikkōṭŭ, “Kozhikode”), from കോഴി (kōḻi, “palace”) + കോട് (kōṭŭ, “fortified palace”).

## Easily confused with
- **Clio** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-clio)
- **click** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-click)
- **chico** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-chico)
- **colic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-colic)
- **casino** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-casino)
- **caliph** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-caliph)
- **chalice** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calico-vs-chalice)
- **Cali** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cali-vs-calico)
- **calc** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/calc-vs-calico)
- **Cairo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/cairo-vs-calico)
- **Caicos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/caicos-vs-calico)

## Common misspellings (8)
`aclico`, `cailco`, `calcio`, `calicco`, `calioc`, `callico`, `ccalico`, `claico`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/calico