Microfibre

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. An extremely thin synthetic thread, typically polyester or polyamide, much finer than a human hair ; a soft fabric woven or knitted from such threads
2. A very slender man-made filament, far narrower than natural hair ; a textile produced from these ultra-fine strands and prized for softness
3. Ultra-thin synthetic strand used in textiles ; cloth constructed from such fine fibres, often valued for its softness and cleaning ability

Etymology: "Microfibre" is the British and Commonwealth spelling of "microfiber," and its parts are plain: "micro-" comes from Ancient Greek "mīkrós," meaning "small," and "fibre" is an older English word for a thread-like strand. Put together, the term describes a fibre far finer than ordinary cloth fibres, usually a synthetic polyester or polyamide filament split into strands much thinner than a human hair. The "micro-" element reached English through Greek combining forms, the same route that gave us words like "microscope." The compound is a modern technical formation, so the name belongs to the age of synthetic textiles rather than to any ancient language. Its meaning stayed literal: the word names a material by its physical dimensions, not by any figurative sense.

Synonyms: microfiber