batik

Where does the word "batik" come from? It comes from Javanese batik, passing through Dutch before entering English (1800s).

Batik’s story begins in Javanese: batik meant “a wax-resist dyeing technique.” Possibly from "tik" (to dot), describing the wax-resist dyeing technique. By 1600s-1700s, the word had taken hold in Dutch as batik. Dutch colonial exhibitions displayed Javanese batik in Europe; Dutch mills even made machine-printed imitations for export. It reached English by 1800s as batik. The 1880s Arts and Crafts movement took up batik as a studio technique. Today, batik means a technique of dyeing fabric by applying wax to areas that resist the dye.

1. Stage 1 · Javanese · medieval batik "a wax-resist dyeing technique", possibly from "tik" (to dot), describing the wax-resist dyeing technique.
2. Stage 2 · Dutch · 1600s-1700s batik "wax-resist dyed fabric", Dutch colonial exhibitions displayed Javanese batik in Europe; Dutch mills even made machine-printed imitations for export.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s batik "a technique of dyeing fabric using wax resist", the 1880s Arts and Crafts movement took up batik as a studio technique.