Ripstop

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A woven fabric designed with a reinforcing technique to prevent tears from spreading
2. Material constructed with interwoven reinforcement threads that stop rips and preserve strength
3. Textile made by weaving strong threads into a grid pattern to avoid enlargement of fabric tears

Etymology: Ripstop is about as plain as English compounds get: a noun made from "rip" and "stop," two words that do exactly what they sound like. The fabric is woven with a reinforcing grid, usually thicker threads spaced at intervals across the weave, so that when a tear starts, it runs into a reinforced line and tends to halt there rather than spreading through the whole cloth. The name describes the function rather than the material. A tear is "ripping," and the reinforcement is what "stops" it, so the two words were joined into a single noun for the fabric and its technique. Because the name points to the mechanism, it has stayed attached to the cloth regardless of which fibers are used to make it.

Synonyms: reinforced fabric