A gaberdine or gabardine is a long, loose

gown A gown, from the Saxon word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the term ''gow ...

cloak A cloak is a type of loose garment worn over clothing, mostly but not always as outerwear for outdoor wear, serving the same purpose as an overcoat, protecting the wearer from the weather. It may form part of a uniform. Cloaks have been and ar ...

with wide

sleeve A sleeve ( ang, slīef, a word allied to ''slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, acro ...

s, worn by men in the later

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and into the 16th century.Cumming (2010), p. 88 In ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as a ...

'',

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

uses the phrase "Jewish gaberdine" to describe the garment worn by

Shylock Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'' (c. 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity form the climax of th ...

, and the term ''gaberdine'' has been subsequently used to refer to the overgown or mantle worn by

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in the medieval era. Oxford English Dictionary, "Gaberdine""Jewish mantle or cloak." Picken (1957), p. 380.

History and etymology

In the 15th and early 16th centuries, ''gaberdine'' (variously spelled ) signified a fashionable overgarment, but by the 1560s it was associated with coarse garments worn by the poor. In the 1611 ''A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues'',

Randle Cotgrave Randle Cotgrave was an English lexicographer. In 1611 he compiled and published ''A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues'', a bilingual dictionary that represented a breakthrough at the time and remains historically important. Life and w ...

glossed the French term ''gaban'' as "a cloake of Felt for raynie weather; a Gabardine" Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'' of 1656 defined a gaberdine as "A rough Irish mantle or horseman's cloak, a long cassock".

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barrie ...

uses the term for 'Holy Dress', or 'Friers Habits' in Abdelazer (1676), Act 2; this in a Spanish setting. In later centuries ''gaberdine'' was used colloquially for any protective overgarment, including labourers'

smock-frock A smock-frock or smock is an outer clothing, garment traditionally worn by rural workers, especially shepherds and wagon, waggoners, in parts of England and Wales throughout the 18th century. Today, the word smock refers to a loose overgarment wor ...

s and children's

pinafore A pinafore (colloquially a pinny in British English) is a sleeveless garment worn as an apron. Pinafores may be worn as a decorative garment and as a protective apron. A related term is ''pinafore dress'' (known as a '' jumper'' in Amer ...

s.Picken (1957), p. 145. It is this sense that led

Thomas Burberry Thomas Burberry (27 August 1835 – 4 April 1926) was an English gentlemen's outfitter, and the founder of international chain Burberry, one of Britain's largest branded clothing businesses. He is also known as the inventor of gabardine. Early l ...

to apply the name

gabardine Gabardine Burberry advertisement for waterproof gabardine suit, 1908 Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool, a tightly woven fabric originally waterproof and used to make suits, overcoats, trousers, uniforms, windbreakers, outerwear and o ...

to the waterproofed twill fabric he developed in 1879.Cumming (2010), p. 248 The word comes from

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, Old French , possibly from the German term ''Wallfahrt'' signifying a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

or from

kaftan A kaftan or caftan (; fa, خفتان, ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's l ...

Notes

References

* Cumming, Valerie, C. W. Cunnington and P. E. Cunnington. ''The Dictionary of Fashion History'', Berg, 2010,
Oxford English Dictionary Online, "Gaberdine"
(subscription required) * Picken, Mary Brooks: ''The Fashion Dictionary'', Funk & Wagnalls, 1957. (1973 edition {{ISBN, 0-308-10052-2) Coats (clothing) Medieval European costume