material
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English
Etymology
From Middle English material, from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”). Displaced native Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”) (from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”)). Doublet of materiel.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General Australian) IPA(key): /məˈtɪə.ɹi.əl/
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /məˈtɪɹ.i.əl/
Audio (US, California) (file)
- Hyphenation: ma‧te‧ri‧al
Adjective
material (comparative more material, superlative most material)
- Having to do with matter; consisting of matter.
- This compound has a number of interesting material properties.
- 1913, Alfred Bowyer Sharpe, Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Evil:
- the material elements of the universe
- Worldly, as opposed to spiritual.
- Antonym: spiritual
- Don't let material concerns get in the way of living a happy life.
- (law, accounting) Significant.
- Antonym: immaterial
- You've made several material contributions to this project.
- This is the most material fact in this lawsuit.
- 1685 March 20 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, , 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, ; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, , published 1819, →OCLC:
- discourse, which was always material, not trifling
- 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. , London: Eliz Holt, for Thomas Basset, , →OCLC, book I, page 3:
- I shall, in the account of simple ideas, set down only such as are most material to our present purpose.
Synonyms
- (related to matter): See also Thesaurus:substantial
- (worldly): mundane
- (significant): See also Thesaurus:pertinent
Derived terms
Terms derived from material (adjective)
Translations
worldly
|
significant
|
Noun
material (countable and uncountable, plural materials)
- Matter which may be shaped or manipulated, particularly in making something.
- Asphalt, composed of oil and sand, is a widely used material for roads.
- 1820, Encyclopaedia Britannica; Or A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, 6th edition, volume 20, Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Company, page 501:
- In trumpets for assisting the hearing, all reverbation of the trumpet must be avoided. It must be made thick, of the least elastic materials, and covered with cloth externally. For all reverbation lasts for a short time, and produces new sounds which mix with those which are coming in.
- 2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 128:
- Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
- Text written for a specific purpose.
- We were a warm-up act at the time; we didn't have enough original material to headline.
- A sample or specimens for study.
- 1992, Rudolf M Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page vii:
- With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]
- Cloth to be made into a garment. Fabric.
- You'll need about a yard of material to make this.
- 1977, Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN, page 4:
- Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
- A person, or people collectively, who are qualified for a certain position or activity.
- boy/girlfriend material
- marriage material
- We have lots of presidential material in various public offices.
- 2021 November 20, Alex Williams, “To Breed or Not to Breed?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- Before she married her husband, Kiersten Little considered him ideal father material.
- Related data of various kinds, especially if collected as the basis for a document or book.
- 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
- Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
- The substance that something is made or composed of.
- 2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist:
- As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels.
- (graphical user interface) An element of a design language associated with a certain style of rendering on the display.
- (chess) All of a player's pieces and pawns on the chessboard.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:material
Derived terms
Terms derived from material (noun)
- active material
- adult material
- bill of material
- bomb material
- building material
- composite material
- genetic material
- genuine issue of material fact
- hazardous material
- material action
- material conditional
- material culture
- material fact
- material heresy
- material implication
- materialisation
- materialise
- materialism
- materialist
- materialization
- materialize
- material logic
- material noun
- material science
- materials science
- material support
- material witness
- metamaterial
- non-material
- positive material identification
- postmaterialism
- postmaterialist
- raw material
- reading material
- shawl material
- strategic material
- time and material
Related terms
Translations
matter
|
text
|
sample or specimens for study
cloth
|
substance that something is made or composed of
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
See also
Verb
material (third-person singular simple present materials, present participle materialling, simple past and past participle materialled)
- (obsolete, transitive) To form from matter; to materialize.
- 1642, Tho[mas] Browne, “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici. , 4th edition, London: E. Cotes for Andrew Crook , published 1656, →OCLC:
- I believe that the whole frame of a beast doth perish, and is left in the same state after death as before it was materialled unto life.
Anagrams
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin materiālis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
material m or f (masculine and feminine plural materials)
- material (clarification of this definition is needed)
Noun
material m (plural materials)
- material (clarification of this definition is needed)
Related terms
Further reading
- “material” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
Crimean Tatar
Etymology
From Latin materialis.
Noun
material
Declension
Declension of material
| nominative | material |
|---|---|
| genitive | materialnıñ |
| dative | materialğa |
| accusative | materialnı |
| locative | materialda |
| ablative | materialdan |
References
- Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
Galician
Noun
material m (plural materiais)
Indonesian
Etymology
From Dutch materiaal, from Middle Dutch materiael, from Middle French material, from Old French material, from Latin māteriālis. Doublet of materiel.
Pronunciation
Noun
material (plural material-material, first-person possessive materialku, second-person possessive materialmu, third-person possessive materialnya)
- material: matter which may be shaped or manipulated, particularly in making something.
Related terms
Further reading
- “material” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Latin māteriālis; equivalent to matere + -al.
Pronunciation
Adjective
material (plural and weak singular materiale)
- Extant in matter or having physical form; material.
- Not supernatural or spiritual; regular, conventional, worldly.
- Being the physical attributes or properties of a thing.
- Affecting or modifying physical matter or attributes.
- (rare) Prominent, significant.
Descendants
- English: material
References
- “mā̆teriāl, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-03-12.
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Late Latin materiale.
Noun
material n (definite singular materialet, indefinite plural material or materialer, definite plural materiala or materialene)
- alternative form of materiale
Derived terms
References
- “material” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”).
Pronunciation
Noun
material m (plural materiais)
- material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)
- material (sample or specimens for study)
- tackle; supplies; gear; rig (objects collected for use in a particular activity)
- material escolar ― school supplies
- material de pesca ― fishing gear
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:material.
Adjective
material m or f (plural materiais)
- (chemistry) material (relating to or composed of matter)
- (religion) material; worldly (relating to physical rather than spiritual matters)
- Synonym: terreno
- (of a person, derogatory) materialistic; consumeristic (obsessed with consumer goods)
- Synonyms: materialista, consumista
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:material.
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French matériel, from Latin materialis. By surface analysis, materie + -al.
Noun
material n (plural materiali)
Declension
Declension of material
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) material | materialul | (niște) materiali | materialile |
| genitive/dative | (unui) material | materialului | (unor) materiali | materialilor |
| vocative | materialule | materialilor | ||
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin māteriālis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
material m or f (masculine and feminine plural materiales)
Noun
material m (plural materiales)
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “material”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Swedish
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
material n
Declension
| Declension of material | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | material | materialet | material | materialen |
| Genitive | materials | materialets | materials | materialens |
Related terms
- bildmaterial
- forskningsmaterial
- informationsmaterial
- materialförvaltare
- materialism
- materialist
- materialkategori
- materialprovning
- materialtyp
- materiel
- materiell
- textmaterial
- tidningsmaterial