thumb|270px|alt=Chino pants|A pair of [[trousers made from chino cloth, generally referred to as chinos]]
Chino cloth ( ) is a twill fabric originally made from pure cotton. The most common items made from it, trousers, are widely called chinos.
The American Heritage Dictionary says that the word is from American Spanish , literally "toasted", in reference to its usual color. But this is not a usual meaning of the Spanish word.
For other possible origins see also the references to chinos in History of Spanish slavery in the Philippines and Manila galleon.
History
First designed to be used in the military, chino fabric was originally made to be simple, durable and comfortable for soldiers to wear; the use of natural earth-tone colors also began the move towards camouflage, instead of the brightly colored tunics used prior. The British Army and the United States Army started wearing it as standard during the latter half of the 19th century.