batik

/bəˈtik/

Other forms: batiks; batiked

Batik is cloth that's decorated using wax and dye. The patterns created using the batik technique are often elaborate and multicolored.

Batik comes from the Javanese bathik and roots meaning "to write" and "dot." Like tie dye, batik is a resist dying technique — both methods create areas of the fabric that are impervious to dye. Batik patterns are often more intricate because an artist draws or writes on cloth using hot wax, leaving those precise lines and dots undyed. The process can be repeated with new patterns and additional dye colors, resulting in beautifully decorated fabric.

Definitions of batik

1. noun

   a dyed fabric; a removable wax is used where the dye is not wanted
   type of:

   cloth, fabric, material, textile

   artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
2. verb

   dye with wax
   “Indonesian fabrics are often batiked”

   type of:

   hand-dye

   dye by hand