Batist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A soft, sheer, finely woven cotton or linen cloth often used for lingerie, blouses and handkerchiefs
2. A delicate, thin plain-woven fabric made from cotton or linen, valued for its smooth and airy feel
3. Light, fine textile of closely woven cotton or linen, commonly sewn into clothing such as shirts and undergarments

Etymology: Batiste takes its name from Baptiste, the medieval French weaver who is said to have first made it, though the link is more a legend than a documented fact. The fabric is a fine, soft plain-weave cloth, usually of linen or cotton, and in French it was called "batiste" from the Old French name Baptiste, which was popular in the Middle Ages as a personal name tied to St. John the Baptist. The story is that a weaver named Baptiste, working in the Cambrai region of northern France, produced this lightweight cloth in the 13th century. Cambrai linen was celebrated across Europe, and the name seems to have followed the fabric as its reputation spread. Historians generally treat the weaver himself as a plausible but unverified figure, so the name is best understood as a trade name that attached to a fabric from that region. The word entered English in the 1600s, borrowed from French. Its sense stayed close to the original: a fine, sheer cloth prized for handkerchiefs, undergarments, and church vestments.

Synonyms: batiste