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Khaki, in British or European parlance, is a type of green tinged brown fabric, or the colour of such fabric. Traditionally pronounced IPA: , it is today more often called in Britain and in the USA. The name comes from the Persian word khak (dirt) which came to English through the Hindi/Urdu loan word meaning earth-coloured or dust coloured. The original khaki fabric is a closely twilled cloth of linen or cotton.
Brigadier Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden began the use of Khaki for British Army regiments serving under him in India in 1848. All British troops in India adopted khaki in 1885 having previously used white as the tropical colour. The Boers used khaki clothing as camouflage in the First Boer War; in the Second Boer War the British did as well.
The United States Army adopted khaki, where it means a greenish tan or sand colour, during the Spanish American War . 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 American states and counties, and South Asian countries. It has also spread to civilian clothing, where "khakis" since the 1950s has meant tan cotton twill trousers. Today, civilian khakis come in all ranges of colours, and the term seems to refer more to the particular design or cut of the 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-coloured uniform, also referred to as "khakis".)
See also
External links
- What is khaki? - The story of the catechu's use as a dye for khaki clothing.
- Google Answers: Is Khaki a Color?
- kamouflage.net > introduction: a very brief overview of the development of camouflage uniforms
"Khaki"