Wadding

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈwɒdɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A type of lightweight stuffing material employed to fill space, serve as cushioning, or absorb impacts
2. A resilient material primarily utilized in padding, insulation and providing protection for various items
3. Material made of loose fibers used to fill cushions, pillows, or as padding in various objects

Etymology: Wadding is a plain formation: the noun "wad" with the suffix "-ing," which in this word carries the sense of "material" or "collection." A wad was first a small mass of something soft, such as a bundle of fibres or a plug of cloth, and adding "-ing" turned that lump into the stuff itself, the loose padding used to stuff quilts, line garments or cushion fragile objects. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the word it sits on. Its distant forms trace back through Proto-Germanic and into Old English as "-ung," and by Middle English it had become "-ynge," the source of the modern "-ing." English speakers attached it to many nouns to name a substance or a collection, so "wadding" belongs to a group of older words built the same way.

Synonyms: padding, stuffing, filling, insulation, material