Fabric

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfæb.ɹɪk/

Definitions

1. A substance created from intertwining fibers that can serve as clothing, upholstery, or decoration, representing the underlying structure or composition of various objects
2. An engineered textile that results from the combination of fibers through weaving or knitting, which can also symbolize the foundational components of an organization or idea
3. A material made by interlacing fibers that is used for making clothes, furnishings, or other items ; the fundamental framework or arrangement that supports a system, organization, or concept

Etymology: The word "fabric" started out meaning a building or a manufactured product in general, not cloth. It came into English from French "fabrique," which in turn came from Latin "fabrica," meaning a workshop, a trade, or the product of skilled work. The Latin word was built on "faber," "artisan" or "workman," so the core idea is something made by hand with skill. Its meaning narrowed over time. Because a great deal of skilled making went into woven goods, "fabric" came to mean the textile itself, and the broader sense of structure survives in phrases like "the fabric of society" or "the fabric of spacetime." The same Latin root gave English "forge," which came through Old French and kept the sense of shaping metal by hand.

Synonyms: material, textile, cloth, weave, fiber

Antonyms: non-material, emptiness