Plural of batiste; fine, soft, lightweight fabrics, typically made of cotton or linen with a smooth finish.
From French 'batiste,' possibly named after Baptiste of Cambrai, a 13th-century Flemish linen weaver. The fabric became popular in Europe during the Renaissance and has been a luxury textile ever since.
Batiste was one of the first branded fabrics—if legend is true, it might literally be named after a person, Baptiste, making it one of history's earliest examples of a craftsperson's name becoming a product name, like how 'sandwich' came from the Earl of Sandwich.
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