Tortie vs. Calico — What's the Difference?

(informal) A tortoiseshell cat.

Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts.

A tightly woven cotton cloth having a repeating, often floral design.

Chiefly British A plain white cotton cloth, heavier than muslin.

An animal, such as a cat, having a coat of white fur with distinct patches of different colors, usually reddish-orange and black.

(textiles) A kind of rough cloth made from unbleached and not fully processed cotton, often printed with a bright pattern.

Ellipsis of calico cat

(uncountable) The plant disease caused by Tobacco mosaic virus.

Made of calico or resembling the color of calico cloth, having a pattern of red and contrasting areas; variegated.

Plain white cloth made from cotton, but which receives distinctive names according to quality and use, as, super calicoes, shirting calicoes, unbleached calicoes, etc.

Cotton cloth printed with a figured pattern.

Made of, or having the appearance of, calico; - often applied to an animal, as a horse or cat, on whose body are large patches of a color strikingly different from its main color.

Coarse cloth with a bright print

Made of calico or resembling calico in being patterned;

Having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly;