Batiste is a balanced plain weave, a fine cloth made from cotton or linen such as cambric. Batiste was often used as a lining fabric for high-quality garments. Batiste is also used for handkerchiefs (cotton batiste) and lingerie (batiste de soie).
In 1901 Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language defined batiste as "usual French name for cambric" or "applied in commerce to a fine texture of linen and cotton".