By David Greenspan and Li-Mei Lim
Answer: ASTRAKHAN

Each line contains a word that’s etymologically derived from a toponym (place name). Using the position (word index) of the toponym in the phrase or sentence to index into the modern­-day country the toponym is from, you extract letters in the given order. Note that the number of words in each sentence or phrase is the same as the number of letters in the country, to provide confirmation and suggest indexing.

Toponym Position in phrase Modern-day country Extracted letter
Limousine 5 Limousin, FRANCE C
Scallions 4 Ashkelon, ISRAEL A
Calico 2 Calicut, INDIA N
Jeans 3 Genoa, ITALY A
Antimacassar 3 Makassar, INDONESIA D
Magenta 1 Magenta, ITALY I
Varnish 5 Benghazi, LIBYA A
Peach 4 Persia, IRAN N
Suede 2 SWEDEN W
Parchment 5 Pergamon, TURKEY E
Badminton 6 Badminton House, UNITED KINGDOM D
Currant 1 Corinth, GREECE G
Mocha 4 Mocha, YEMEN E
Denim 5 Nimes, FRANCE C
Sardines 3 Sardinia, ITALY A
Mayonnaise 2 Mahon, SPAIN P

The letters spell the clue phrase CANADIAN WEDGE CAP, which clues ASTRAKHAN.