gabardine, any of several varieties of worsted, cotton, silk, and mixed tightly woven fabrics, embodying certain features in common and chiefly made into suits and overcoats. It is a relatively strong and firm cloth, made with a twill weave, and somewhat resembling whipcord but of lighter texture. The weft, or filling, lies entirely at the back and is therefore not visible from the front, a circumstance that allows the use of filling of inferior quality without loss of durability, for only the warp surface is exposed to wear.
Gabardine was originally a type of waterproofed fabric employed for the manufacture of raincoats. A fabric of a more open and much lighter texture, produced entirely of silk, is called silk, or voile, gabardine.