gabardine

/ˌgæbərˈdin/

Other forms: gabardines

Gabardine is a durable, tightly woven fabric that's often used for jackets and other outerwear. Grab your gabardine raincoat — it's pouring outside!

Rain jackets and windbreakers were once so commonly made of gabardine that it's still routine in the U.K. to use the word as a synonym for "raincoat." The word gabardine dates back to the 16th century, but the men's clothing maker Thomas Burberry is usually credited with inventing and naming gabardine fabric in 1879. Some experts trace the word to an ancient Indian garment, the kaba.

Definitions of gabardine

1. noun

   a firm durable fabric with a twill weave
   type of:

   cloth, fabric, material, textile

   artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
2. noun

   a loose coverall (coat or frock) reaching down to the ankles
   synonyms: dust coat, duster, gaberdine, smock

   type of:

   coverall

   a loose-fitting protective garment that is worn over other clothing
3. noun

   (usually in the plural) trousers made of flannel or gabardine or tweed or white cloth
   synonyms: flannel, tweed, white

   type of:

   pant, trouser

   (usually in the plural) a garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately