fabric — ONAD

fabric /ˈfabrik, ˈfæbrɪk

▸ noun

1 cloth or other material produced by weaving or knitting fibers:

heavy silk fabric

waterproof fabrics.

2 the walls, floor, and roof of a building:

decay and neglect are slowly eating away at the building's fabric.

▪ the body of a car or aircraft:

we heard creaking and rushing noises in the car's fabric.

▪ the essential structure of anything, especially a society or culture:

the fabric of society.

– ORIGIN late 15th century : from French fabrique, from Latin fabrica ‘something skillfully produced’, from faber ‘worker in metal, stone, etc.’ The word originally denoted a building, later a machine, the general sense being ‘something made’, hence fabric (SENSE 1) (mid 18th century, originally denoting any manufactured material). fabric (SENSE 2) dates from the mid 17th century.