A defensive garment formerly in use for the body, made of cloth stuffed and quilted.
1786: Although the gambeson was chiefly worn under the coat of mail, to protect the body from being bruised by the strokes of the sword or lance, a circumstance that migh happen without a division of the mail, the verses quoted in the Siege of Karleverok, shew that it was sometimes worn as a fur coat, and ornamented with richdecorations. — Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 18.
