fabric
Definition
- : underlying structure : framework //the fabric of society
- : an act of constructing : erectionspecifically : the construction and maintenance of a church building
- : structural plan or style of construction: the arrangement of physical components (as of soil) in relation to each other
- : a material that resembles cloth
- : the appearance or pattern produced by the shapes and arrangement of the crystal grains in a rock
Examples
- //The curtains are made of expensive fabric.
- //scarves made of woven fabrics
- //the fabric of the community
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1aHistory and Etymology
borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French fabrique "act of construction, something created or constructed, the created world, structure, construction and maintenance of a church," borrowed from Medieval Latin fabrica, going back to Latin, "process of making something, craft, art, workshop," noun derivative from *fabricus "of a craftsman," from fabr-, faber "craftsman, smith" (perhaps going back to dialectal Indo-European *dhabh-r- —perhaps of non-Indo-European origin— whence also Armenian darbin "smith," from *dhabh-r-sneh2) + -icus -ic entry 1NOTE: The Latin derivative fabrica may have been shortened from fabrica ars, perhaps literally "smith's craft, smith's place of work." The base *dhabh-r- has been compared with Gothic gadaban "to happen, be suitable" and a host of related words (see daft), though the semantic link is tenuous.
fabric
noun
Synonyms
- the arrangement of parts that gives something its basic form //you can't expect the fabric of society to survive if you do away with all moral imperativesSynonyms
fabric
Definition
- : underlying structure : framework //the fabric of society
- : an act of constructing : erectionspecifically : the construction and maintenance of a church building
- : structural plan or style of construction: the arrangement of physical components (as of soil) in relation to each other
- : a material that resembles cloth
- : the appearance or pattern produced by the shapes and arrangement of the crystal grains in a rock
Examples
- //The curtains are made of expensive fabric.
- //scarves made of woven fabrics
- //the fabric of the community
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1aHistory and Etymology
borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French fabrique "act of construction, something created or constructed, the created world, structure, construction and maintenance of a church," borrowed from Medieval Latin fabrica, going back to Latin, "process of making something, craft, art, workshop," noun derivative from *fabricus "of a craftsman," from fabr-, faber "craftsman, smith" (perhaps going back to dialectal Indo-European *dhabh-r- —perhaps of non-Indo-European origin— whence also Armenian darbin "smith," from *dhabh-r-sneh2) + -icus -ic entry 1NOTE: The Latin derivative fabrica may have been shortened from fabrica ars, perhaps literally "smith's craft, smith's place of work." The base *dhabh-r- has been compared with Gothic gadaban "to happen, be suitable" and a host of related words (see daft), though the semantic link is tenuous.
fabric
noun
Synonyms
- the arrangement of parts that gives something its basic form //you can't expect the fabric of society to survive if you do away with all moral imperativesSynonyms