gingham

Gingham likely comes from Malay genggang, meaning 'ajar' or 'apart' — possibly describing the fabric's distinct, separated stripes. Alternatively, it may be a corruption of Guingamp, a town in Brittany, France, where the cloth was reportedly made.

There isn't enough here to trace a change in meaning — the word seems to have named this checked or striped cotton cloth from early on, with its origin split between two competing stories.

No related English cognates are given in the facts beyond the word itself.