Past tense of 'gamboise'—to wear or put on a gambeson (a padded medieval armor jacket).
From 'gamboise' (verb) based on 'gambeson,' a medieval padded tunic. 'Gambeson' comes from Old French 'gambeson,' possibly derived from Arabic 'al-qamis' (a shirt or tunic), reflecting medieval trade and military equipment terminology.
Medieval warriors had to gamborise before battle—basically suiting up in what was essentially a heavy quilted blanket to protect against sword blows. The Arabic origin shows how medieval European armies adopted protective gear technologies from the Islamic world, and the language followed the armor!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.