percale
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per·cale
(pər-kāl′)n.
A closely woven cotton fabric used for sheets and clothing.
[French, probably from obsolete English percalla, ultimately (probably via Urdu) from Persian pargāla, a piece of cloth, probably variant of pargāra, a circle drawn with a pair of compasses, a bit, a piece of cloth, worldly goods, from parkār, parkāl, pargāl, a pair of compasses : perhaps Old Iranian parā, forth, off, away; see per in Indo-European roots + kar-, variant of karš-, to draw, drag (probably akin to Latin colere, to till; see cultivate).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
percale
(pəˈkeɪl; -ˈkɑːl)n
(Textiles) a close-textured woven cotton fabric, plain or printed, used esp for sheets
[C17: via French from Persian pargālah piece of cloth]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
per•cale
(pərˈkeɪl)n.
a smooth, plain-weave cotton cloth, used esp. for bedsheets.
[1615–25; < French < Persian pargāla rag; replacing percalla < Persian]
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| Noun | 1. |  percale - a fine closely woven cotton fabric |
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