gambeson

[ gam-buh-suhn ]

nounArmor.
  1. a quilted garment worn under mail.

Origin of gambeson

1
1300–50; Middle English ga(u)mbeson a military tunic <Old French gambison, gambeison, probably <Germanic

Words Nearby gambeson

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use gambeson in a sentence

  • The gambeson is shown on Fig. 9, appearing beneath the edge of the hauberk just above the knee.

    Armour &amp; Weapons | Charles John Ffoulkes
  • Quilted garments were still worn, either as the sole defence or as a gambeson under the mail.

    Armour &amp; Weapons | Charles John Ffoulkes
  • The gambeson appearing below the chausses, but covering the chaussons of mail, forming an extra protection to the knee.

    Armour in England | J. Starkie Gardner
  • The shirts of mail are edged with wide borders, which may or may not represent the under tunic or gambeson showing beneath.

    Spanish Arms and Armour | Albert F. Calvert
  • The "Aketon" appears to be but another name for the gambeson.

British Dictionary definitions for gambeson

gambeson

/ (ˈɡæmbɪsən) /


noun
  1. a quilted and padded or stuffed leather or cloth garment worn under chain mail in the Middle Ages and later as a doublet by men and women

Origin of gambeson

1
C13: from Old French, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German wamba belly; see womb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012