布本身，以及用它做的東西
這一條停在畫面的布上。同一個名字在大西洋兩岸落在不同的布上，再往前一步，就是把布料名直接拿來當形容詞，說某樣東西是用它做的。
noun · B2
In American English, light cotton cloth printed with a small pattern that repeats all over it, used for things like dresses, aprons and quilts.
印花棉布（美）
核心畫面
One way to hold this word: a bolt of cheap cotton cloth rolling off a machine. Two things about that cloth do all the work later. It is cotton — plain, thick, undyed if nobody prints on it. And it is the cloth people print patterns onto, block after block of color across the whole length. Follow the plain side and you get the British cloth and the things made from it. Follow the printed side and you get the American cloth, and then the color word that jumped from the cloth to an animal: a cat that looks as if its patches had been printed on.
可以想成這樣一個畫面：一捲便宜的棉布從機器上滾下來。這塊布有兩件事，後面的意思全從這裡長出來。第一，它是棉布——素的…更多收起
可以想成這樣一個畫面：一捲便宜的棉布從機器上滾下來。這塊布有兩件事，後面的意思全從這裡長出來。第一，它是棉布——素的、厚的，沒人印花就維持原色。第二，它正是大家會拿去印花的那種布，一塊接一塊的顏色印滿整匹。順著「素」這一邊走，就得到英式的白棉布，還有用它做成的東西。順著「印花」這一邊走，就得到美式的碎花棉布，再跳到貓身上：一隻看起來像被印上色塊的貓。From the word’s history
The supplied Wiktionary entry derives calico from Calicut, the Indian port the cloth was first exported from, itself from Malayalam Kozhikode. So the word is a place name that stuck to a product, which is why it names a cloth rather than describing one.
手上的 Wiktionary 資料說 calico 來自印度港口 Calicut（源自馬拉雅拉姆語的 Kozhikode），也就是這種棉布最早出口的地方。所以這個字本來是地名，黏在貨物上就變成布的名字。這也說明了為什麼它只是「叫這個名字的布」，字面上並沒有描述布長什麼樣。
Wiktionary (kaikki source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1207959600), supplied in the evidence packet
Two branches
布上的花色，跳到活的東西身上
這一條不再談布料，只留下布給人的視覺印象：一塊一塊、邊界分明的顏色。名字被借去形容毛色之後，就跟紡織品脫鉤了。
noun · B2
A calico cat is a cat whose fur has large separate patches of white, orange or brown, and black. In American English people often drop the word cat and just say a calico.
三花貓（美）