: a fine soft sheer fabric of plain weave made of various fibers
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from French, earlier also baptiste, by hypercorrection from *batisse (associated with the proper name Baptiste, pronounced with cluster simplification as Batiste, Batisse), going back to Middle French (Picard) batiche, probably from bat-, stem of battre "to beat, separate (fiber for felting)" + -iche, Picard cognate of central French -isse, adjective suffix, going back to Old French -ice, feminine of -eiz, iz, going back to Latin -ātīcius, -itīcius — more at battery