Glossary

Ambi A mango-shaped motif - the paisley pattern (lit. 'rich')
Amli Needle work embroidery native to Kashmir
Angarkha A long-sleeved, full-skirted tunic for men, generally open at the chest and tied in front with an inner flap
Ari Awl-like hooked needle, often used for chain stitch embroidery
Badam A textile term for oval-shaped motifs
Badla Flattened gold or silver wire
Badla Mukaish Knots of badla sewn onto cloth
Baluchar A type of brocaded silk sari
Bandgala Achkan and shervani (lit. 'closed neck')
Bandhini The mode of tie-dyeing fabrics to form patterns (also known as Bandhej)
Bandi A short jacket or waistcoat
Batik A paste or wax resist dyeing technique
Bel A stylized creeper pattern
Buti A smaller version of a buta the term is used also to denote stylized animal motifs printed in block repeats
Calico A term used by early European traders
Cheent Spotted
Chikankari White embroidery, predominantly floral patterns, executed on fine white cotton with untwisted
threads of white cotton or silk
Chiru Himalayan antelope
Choli A woman's blouse or bodice usually tight-fitting
Chunari A tie-dyed dotted pattern, a veil
Chunnat Pleated or crimped gota ribbon
Churidar paijama Style of tight-fitting paijama, rouched from the knee to the ankles (lit. the paijama with bangles)
Dhoti An unstitched garment used to drape the lower body, very much in use today
Dori A cord
Dupatta An unstitched length of material for the upper body traditionally worn by both sexes,
but now mainly worn by women as part of a salwar kameez (paijama and tunic) ensemble
Farshi A wide legged trailing paijama
Ganga Jamuna The juxtaposition of silver and gold in a woven pattern, named after the confluence of dark and light waters of the two sacred rivers
Ghaghra A gathered skirt usually very flared
Ghera Circumference, fullness of a garment
Gheru Saffron, ochre
Ghundi A button made of silk or cotton, sometimes covered with gold or silver wire, held together with a loop
Gota A metallic ribbon in which badla forms the weft and silk or cotton the wrap
Gota Moti A beaded cord covered with gota, often used for finishing ghaghra and jama hems
Gota Patti Small leaf shapes made of gota
Gote The bottom part of a farshi paijama which is made up of three sections, often richly embellished
Holi A lively and colorful festival celebrated on the last day of the month of Phalgun to
welcome the onset of spring
Ikkat The name of the pattern created by the tie-dyeing the weft and wrap threads before weaving which is a specially of Gujarat Orissa and Andhra Pradesh
Izarband The decorative drawstring at the waist of a lower garment, usually a ghaghra or a paijama
with ornamented tasselled ends
Jaal An all over pattern in a printed or embroidered  fabric
Jala A small wooden frame used by master craftsmen, on which threads are tied to form a grid
of the wrap and weft outling the design of the weave
Jamakhana The storehouse for garments in the Mughal and other royal courts
Jamavar The trade name for the woven or embroidered Kashmir shawls
Jamdaani A weaving technique traditional to the town of Tanda, Jais and Dacca used to produce figured muslins
Jhoomar A jewelled hair ornament worn on the side of the head
Jhumka A bell-shaped piece of jewellery
Jutis Slip on shoes, usually elaborated embroidery and with unturned toes
Kalamkari Painted cloth (as a trade term it referred to both painted and printed cloths)
Kali A gored panel
Kalioyndar Paijama A wide bottomed paijama made up of several panels
Kameez A tunic
Kanchala - Kundal A type of earing
Kanchli A sleeveless bodice worn in Western India
Kanni A complex weaving technique originating in Kashmir (known in the West as the double twill-tapestry technique)
Khadi Fabric made of handspun yarns, symbol of India's fight for Independent
Kurta A loose, stitched garment worn by men and women, most commonly described as a tunic
(also known as a kameez)
Kurti A short Kurta usually worn by women a type of grass fiber)
Lahariya A pattern in which diagonal wavy stripes are formed by the fold-resist dyeing technique of the same name
Lehnga A skirt
Libaas An ensemble or dress
Mashru A medium weight wrap faced satin or twill fabric with silk wrap and cotton weft
Minakari Colored enamel jewellery, borders or butis woven with different colored silk to give the appearance of enamel
Mothra A criss-cross pattern obtained through fold-resist dyeing in woven fabrics the term
Moti A bead or pearl
Mulmul Cotton, usually in reference to Indian muslin, particularly the muslin woven in Bengal
Odhini A veil, usually 3m x 1m, worn by women with a ghaghra, kurti and kanchli, it covers the head and the
right shoulder, is drawn across the body and either tucked into the waistband or left hanging in front
Pagri The common term for a turban
Paijama Drawstring trousers worn by men and women with many different styles
Paithani Cotton and silk sari produced in Paithan
Pallav The decorative border at one or both ends of a length of fabric usually of a sari, odhani or patka
Pashmina The wool made from the fleece of the underbelly of the rare Tibetan wild mountain goat
Patti A border or edging
Peshwaz A long high-waisted gown
Phulkari Folk embroidery typical of the Punjab
Poncha The ankle opening of a paijama, usually the salwar, which is often quilted or
ornamented with decorative stitching
Purdah The practice of sequestering women, the flap of fabric in the angarkha that covers the chest,
the pieces of fabric used to make up the cups of a choli
Sari An unstitched length of fabric up to 9 yds in length and 18 to 60 in width with a decorated end panel draped in a wide variety of styles
Shatoosh The fleece of the tibetan chiru antelope that is spun and woven into fine shawls
Shal A shawl
Salwar Paijama A baggy style of paijama tapered at the ankle worn mainly in the Punjab, Afghanistan
and African garment
Shervani A formal knee-length coat fitted to the waist
Sinjaf The facing inside the hem of a garment
Sitara Tiny metal discs, often of gold or silver with a tiny hole at the centre
Tanchoi Figured silk with multiple supplementary weft threads, that create a heavy densly patterned fabric
Teej A festival celebrating conjugal love, held in Northern and western India in The month of Shravan
Tikka A forehead ornament also used to refer to a bindi
Tikki Metal discs used in zardozi embroidery
Topi A cap
Tussar A type of wild silk made in Eastern and Central India from hand spun yarns
Tikki / Tikki Embroidery Metal discs used in zardozi embroidery
Vastra  Clothes
Zardozi  Gold thread embroidery using metallic elements and threads, sometimes mirrors,
precious or semi precious stones
Zari Metal wrapped yarn used for zardozi embroidery