CALICO, noun [said to be from Calicut, in India.] Cotton cloth. In England, white or unprinted cotton cloth is called calico In the United States, calico is printed cotton cloth, having not more than two colors. I have never heard this name given to the unprinted cloth. calico was originally imported from India, but is now manufactured in Europe and the United States.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI