"of or pertaining to Dalmatia," c. 1600; see Dalmatia. As a noun from early 15c. in reference to a kind of robe or vestment. Related: Dalmatical (1590s).
Entries linking to dalmatic
Dalmatia
region along the eastern Adriatic coast in what is now Croatia, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from a derivative of PIE *dhal- "to bloom," in a sense of "young animal," in reference to the mountain pastures.