noref: date=December 2008 This article is about the fabric. For the colour, see Khaki (color). Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".
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noref: date=December 2008 This article is about the fabric. For the colour, see Khaki (color). Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".
There are two common, and not too dissimilar, definitions of the word "khaki": One is that it is a Hindi word meaning earth-coloured or dust-coloured; The other is that the idiomatic Hindi for faeces is "khaki" and, in fact, many ex-British Army colonialists are familiar with the word "khaki" as the equivalent of the English "shit". Regardless of its precise etymology, "khaki" refers to the colour of uniforms introduced by the army regiments in the 1880s. More accurately, the correct shade of "khaki" is the colour of "Multani Mitti", meaning "the mud of Multan". Multan was a well known military cantonment of British India (now in Pakistan).
In 1846 Sir Harry Lumsden raised a corps of Guides for frontier service from Indian recruits at Peshawar. Regiments serving in the region had adopted properly dyed khaki uniforms for active service and summer dress. The original khaki fabric was a closely twilled cloth of linen or cotton. The British Army adopted khaki for the campaign dress in 1897, and it was used in the Second Boer War (1899-1902). A darker shade of khaki serge was adopted for home service dress in 1902.
The United States Army adopted khaki during the Spanish American War (1898). It has become de rigueur for military uniforms of militaries the world over (e.g. the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps), as well as the police forces of many South Asian countries and U.S. states and counties. It has also spread to civilian clothing, where "khakis" since the 1950s has meant tan cotton twill pants/trousers.
"Khaki" has also become a common slang term in the United States Navy that refers to chief petty officers and officers (who wear a khaki-colored uniform).
Today, civilian "khakis" come in all ranges of colors and the term refers more to the particular design or cut of the pants/trousers. In this context, "Khakis" have become popular as business casual pants/trousers, and includes other cuts and fabric types (such as chinos).
See also
- Khaki election
- Chino cloth
- Cargo pants
- Chino pants
External links
- Origins of Khaki - The Khaki Cloth - Mangaloreans' Gift to the World
- What is khaki? - The story of the catechu's use as a dye for khaki clothing
- What is khaki? Rant and explanation of Military uniforms - A description and rant about US uniforms made in khaki, and the differences among them
