fabric

fabric
\ \ [15] Latin faber was a term for an artisan who worked with hard materials – a carpenter, for example, or a smith (it probably came from a prehistoric Indo-European base meaning ‘fit things together’). From it was derived fabrica, which denoted the trade such a man followed, the place where he worked, or in general terms the product of his work – in the case of a carpenter, a ‘building’. And ‘building’ was the original sense of the word in English when it acquired it via French fabrique: ‘He had neuer studye in newe fabrykes ne buyldynges’, William Caxton, Golden Legend 1483.
\ \ Remnants of the usage survive in the current sense ‘walls, roof, and floor of a building’. It was not until the mid 18th century that the underlying notion of ‘manufactured material’ gave rise to the word’s main present-day meaning ‘textile’.
\ \ Derivatives include fabricate [18], from Latin fabricāre, and forge.
\ \ Cf.FORGE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Fabric — Fab ric (f[a^]b r[i^]k), n. [L. fabrica fabric, workshop: cf. F. fabrique fabric. See {Forge}.] 1. The structure of anything; the manner in which the parts of a thing are united; workmanship; texture; make; as cloth of a beautiful fabric. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fabric — ist der Name eines Musikers, siehe Bent Fabric eines Clubs in London, siehe Fabric (Club) einer Compilation Serie der elektronischen Musik dieses Clubs, siehe Fabric Live für bestimmte Arten von Netzwerkarchitekturen in Rechnernetzwerken, siehe… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Fabric — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Fabric es una discoteca que se encuentra en la ciudad de Londres (por la zona de Farrigdon) y considerada como una de las mejores del mundo. Fue inaugurada en 1999, y desde entonces sigue siendo fiel a su estilo,… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Fabric — Fab ric, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fabricked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Fabricking}.] To frame; to build; to construct. [Obs.] Fabric their mansions. J. Philips. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fabric — UK US /ˈfæbrɪk/ noun [C or U] ► cloth: »Consumers are demanding lighter, easy to care for fabrics. »Competition from overseas fabric producers forced the company to shed 700 jobs …   Financial and business terms

  • fabric — late 15c., building, thing made, from M.Fr. fabrique (14c.), from L. fabrica workshop, also an art, trade; a skillful production, structure, fabric, from faber artisan who works in hard materials, from PIE *dhabh to fit together. Sense in English …   Etymology dictionary

  • fabric — [n1] cloth, material bolt, fiber, goods, stuff, textile, texture, web; concept 473 fabric [n2] structure building, consistency, constitution, construction, foundation, frame, framework, infrastructure, make up, mold, organization, stamp,… …   New thesaurus

  • fabric — [fab′rik] n. [MFr fabrique < L fabrica, a workshop, trade, product, fabric < faber, a workman < IE base * dhabh , to fit together > OE (ge)dæfte, fit] 1. a) anything constructed or made of parts put together; structure; building b)… …   English World dictionary

  • fabric — index building (structure), frame (structure), structure (composition) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • fabric — ► NOUN 1) material produced by weaving or knitting textile fibres; cloth. 2) a structure or framework, especially the walls, floor, and roof of a building. 3) the essential structure of a system or organization. ORIGIN Latin fabrica something… …   English terms dictionary

  • Fabric — 51°31′10.05″N 0°6′10.36″O / 51.5194583, 0.1028778 …   Wikipédia en Français

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