Geotextiles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A synthetic or natural material used in geotechnical engineering to reinforce soil and improve stability
2. An engineered fabric employed in construction and civil engineering applications for drainage and separation
3. Materials designed to enhance ground performance by filtering, separating, and reinforcing earth structures

Etymology: Geotextiles are a plain compound, and the history is short. The first half comes from ancient Greek "gê", meaning earth, which appears in English through the combining form "geo-". The second half is "textile", from Latin "textilis", meaning woven, from "texere", to weave. Put together, the name describes a woven or fabric-like material used in and with the ground. The word is a modern technical coinage built from these classical parts, so ancient Greeks and Romans would not have recognised it. Its meaning is precise: a fabric placed in soil or beneath roads and foundations to let water drain away or to keep different layers of material from mixing. The plural simply refers to more than one such fabric or to the category as a whole.