Dungaree fabric (used in English since 1605–15, from the

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

''dongrī'') is a historical term for an Indian coarse thick

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

cloth. The word is possibly derived from

Dongri Dongri is a port city in the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, Mira-Bhayandar municipality of Thane district, situated just north of Gorai, Mumbai. The word 'Overall, Dungaree' (worker's overalls worn in Britain) has its origin in Dongri due ...

, a dockside village near

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp thread is now more commonly referred to as

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been pr ...

. In

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...

, the term is used for hard-wearing work trousers made from such fabric and in

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

for

bib overalls Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

in various fabrics, either for casual or work use. By 1891

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much o ...

was using the word to refer to a kind of garment (in the plural) as well as a fabric.

Dungaree vs. denim

Although dungaree now also refers to denim, it is unclear whether traditional dungaree was a precursor to denim. In the late 17th century, most dungaree produced was either washed and bleached, or dyed after weaving. Denim refers to cotton twill which may be warp dyed, undyed, or dyed after weaving. Denim may be 2x1 or 3x1 twill. It is unclear what types of dungaree fabric were available traditionally.

Derivatives

In the United States, the mill at Shady Lea,

North Kingstown North Kingstown is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and is part of the Providence metropolitan area. The population was 27,732 in the 2020 census. North Kingstown is home to the birthplace of American portraitist Gilbe ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, was built in the late 1820s by Esbon Sanford to manufacture a cotton-wool blend twill fabric called Kentucky Jean, resembling a cross between

burlap Hessian (, ), burlap in the United States and Canada, or crocus in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, is a woven fabric usually made from skin of the jute plant or sisal fibres, which may be combined with other vegetable fibres to make rope, nets, ...

and the dungaree fabric of today.Mill at Shady Lea origins
/ref>

References

Woven fabrics {{textile-stub