Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A light olive brown to moderate or light yellowish brown.
- n. A sturdy cloth of this color.
- n. A uniform made of this cloth.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Dustcolored or claycolored: adopted from Hindu use.
- n. A kind of light drab or chocolate-colored cloth used for the uniforms of some East Indian regiments.
- Made of the cloth known as khaki (without direct reference to color).
- n. A soldier clad in khaki.
- n. The cause and the policy represented by the khaki-clad military forces operating in South Africa in 1899–1902, and support of the British government in its war policy at that time: as, to vote khaki, that is, to support the government and its measures in carrying on the Boer war.
- n. The bonds issued by the British government in raising money to continue the Boer war.
Wiktionary
- n. A dull, yellowish-brown colour, the colour of dust.
- n. Khaki green, a dull green colour.
- n. A strong cloth of wool or cotton, often used for military or other uniforms.
- n. South Africa, slang A British person (from the colour of the uniform of British troops).
- adj. Dust-coloured; of the colour of dust.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Of a dull brownish yellow, or drab color; -- applied to cloth, originally to a stout brownish cotton cloth, used in making uniforms in the Anglo-Indian army.
- n. Any kind of khaki cloth; hence, a uniform of khaki or, rarely, a soldier clad in khaki. In the United States and British armies khaki or cloth of a very similar color is almost exclusively used for service in the field.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. of a yellowish brown color
- n. a sturdy twilled cloth of a yellowish brown color used especially for military uniforms
Etymologies
- From Hindi ख़ाकी / خاکی (xākī), from Persian خاکی (xâki, "dusty, earthy, earth-colored") (Wiktionary)
- Urdu khākī, dusty, from Persian, from khāk, dust, from Middle Persian. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Linen no mater what color even "khaki" is limited to late spring - Easter through the summer and should probably not be seen after mid September.”
“More accurately, the correct shade of "khaki" is the color of "Multani Mitti", meaning "the mud of Multan".”
“The word "khaki," derived from the Hindi word for dust, traditionally refers to a specific color -- a shade of tan or beige -- and the term was used as far back as the 1840s to refer to the cotton twill uniforms worn by British colonial forces in India.”
“The assailants, dressed in khaki pants and armed with AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and suicide vests, parked a gray Dodge sport-utility vehicle near the rear of the church.”
The Washington Post: Survivors describe deadly attack on Baghdad church
“At first I didn't like it but when you see all the kids waiting for the bus in khaki's and polo shirts it's pretty impressive.”
“He was being passed by a youngish woman in khaki slacks and white running shoes and a yellow baseball hat tipped rakishly forward on her head, as if her hair were too bulky, too springy, to fit into it.”
“Ciara and Rihanna both picked out the Isadora Deluxe bag in khaki and Rihanna said she not only loved the color, but that the bag was really beautiful as well.”
Distinctive Assets Rocks the GRAMMY?s with the Official Talent Lounge and Gift Bag
“Scene opens on a suburban woman in khaki shorts and a summer hat, the sun hitting her muddy calves, making them sparkle as she walks through a manicured backyard: I have done it again.”
“Here at the coast, you see plenty of folks, locals, expats and tourists alike in khaki shorts, print shirts, carrying water bottles, wearing straw hats with Puerto Vallarta on the band, and wearing local and other T-shirts.”
“Among thousands of soldiers and police from every imaginable government agency, I twice saw groups of heavily armed men in khaki fatigues wearing T-shirts that read "Blackwater.”
Boing Boing: September 4, 2005 - September 10, 2005 Archives
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘khaki’.
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Loanwords
Since English is littered with loanwords, everything could conceivably end up here. But there is a distinct feeling associated with these.. maybe they're young additions to the English language; I ...
iceberg, fjord, firth, abbey, abyss, anorak, apartheid, assassin, avalanche, avocado, balaclava, banana and 104 more...
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Uncommon Colours
azure, myrtle, periwinkle, viridian, jade, emerald, lime, chartreuse, asparagus, celadon, harlequin, olive and 147 more...
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Realia from Everywhere
Culturally defined terms and expressions from the four corners of the world
fjord, mistral steppe, tornado, tsunami, polder, kiwi, koala, sequoia, Abominable Snowman, paprika, spaghetti, empanada and 299 more...
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Hence
Words with definitions that have a "hence" in them.
hanger, Deet, tripe, spindlelegs, fiddle, store, pluck, snap, villain, link, comedy, particular and 410 more...
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Colour Me Happy
violet, lavender, rose, eggshell, mauve, fuschia, grey, azure, almond, sienna, purple, periwinkle and 71 more...
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colors
This list aims to contain words whose primary definition describes the color itself, unlike gold, silver, rust, turquoise, etc. Of course red can mean communist, blue can mean sad, yellow can mean ...
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, purple, pink, grey, gray, white, black and 25 more...
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Brown
chocolate, chestnut, coffee, beige, clay, bronze, copper, camel, chamoisee, tan, wenge, umber and 16 more...
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Colors
Words for colors, including things so associated with a color that they can be used in reference to a color.
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, purple, navy, lavender, turquoise, chartreuse and 218 more...
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color me mauve
color words
albescent, ecru, eggshell, mauve, taupe, ochre, ashen, goldenrod, gamboge, cream, saffron, mustard and 109 more...
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chromatica
cerulean, vermilion, sienna, terracotta, red, yellow, umber, green, blue, ultramarine, burnt sienna, cadmium yellow and 108 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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Chromonyms
These chromonyms are defined as colors in at least one dictionary (mostly MW3). (Actually there's one fake, for reasons I'll explain someday.) They are all one-word nouns such as "kelly", which can...
absinthe, acacia, acorn, alabaster, alesan, almond, aloma, amaranth, amber, amethyst, anemone, anil and 821 more...
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The things they carried (List 2)
Listening to this as an audio book for the second time. Tim O'Brien uses simple words and phrases to great effect. Very few unfamilar and big words . The writing style reminds me of words from Joh...
The, Things, They, Carried, meant, fond, By necessity,, presented to him, far beyond, against the brick..., reaching, taut and 2940 more...
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wordrainbow
A big list of color names for use on wordrainbow.com
emerald, cherry, coffee, cream, almond, gold, kiwi, green, grass green, aquamarine, beet red, sepia and 714 more...
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Fabrics
Woven, knit and tatted fabrics. Other kinds of cloth, such as tapa and chamois are not included.
shikii, shantung, cotton, linen, tweed, wool, velour, velvet, velveteen, gabardine, chenille, silk and 550 more...
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eloise's Words
embrace, perfect, imagine, dance, water, color, echo, hollow, sorrow, beauty, impossible, violet and 438 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for khaki.
bilby In Pittsburgh spelt h-o-t-w-i-r-e. Feb 23, 2013
oroboros What you use to start the car in Boston? (thanks to NPR's Says You) Feb 23, 2013
fbharjo from khaki (="made from soil", "dusty" or "of the colour of soil"), from khak (= "soil") Aug 30, 2009