The English word
CHINTZ comes from Hindi
chint, which is in turn from Sanskrit
chitra, meaning "distinctively marked, many-colored" (as also in the word
cheetah). It originally referred to painted calico fabrics imported from India, and it later came to refer to cottons printed with colorful designs, often of flowers. Today the word "chintz" can also refer to colorful patterns used on pottery and in wallpaper. You can read more about chintz in this
Wikipedia article.
The word was originally a plural form spelled "chints," but the spelling eventually changed to "chintz."
Chintz was a very common fabric, hence the extended meaning of the adjective "chintzy" to refer to anything that is cheap and/or gaud. Then, from the sense of cheap, "chintzy" has also come to mean stingy or miserly.
This image shows a type of
chintz fabric:
This image shows
chintz pottery:
