Prefabrication

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The method of assembling parts or structures in a factory setting before they are transported and installed on-site
2. The practice of manufacturing various construction elements off-site for efficient and faster building processes
3. The process of producing building parts at a separate location before they are brought to the construction site for installation

Etymology: Prefabrication is a plain compound: "pre-" meaning "before" joined to "fabrication," the making of something. The "pre-" traces back through Latin "prae," "before," to a very old root meaning roughly "before" or "in front," and it reached English through Middle English. "Fabrication" is the older and more familiar part, built on the same Latin family as "fabric" and "fabricate," and in English it has long meant the act of constructing or assembling something. The compound combines those two ideas literally: parts made in advance, at a factory, and then brought to a site for assembly. That sense of making things before they are needed is what gives the word its modern meaning of factory-made building components, such as wall panels, roof trusses, or whole rooms that arrive ready to fit together.

Synonyms: preassembly, modular construction, off-site construction, assembly, fabrication