material
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”)).
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /məˈtɪɹi.əl/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /məˈtɪəɹɪəl/
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.
- Whewell
- the material elements of the universe
- Worldly, as opposed to spiritual.
- Don't let material concerns get in the way of living a happy life.
- Antonym: spiritual
- (law, accounting) Significant.
- You've made several material contributions to this project.
- This is the most material fact in this lawsuit.
- Evelyn
- discourse, which was always material, never trifling
- John Locke
- I shall, in the account of simple ideas, set down only such as are most material to our present purpose.
- Antonym: immaterial
Synonyms
- (related to matter): See also Thesaurus:substantial
- (worldly): mundane
- (significant): See also Thesaurus:pertinent
Derived terms
- material breach
- material cause
- material girl
- material world
Translations
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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.
- 2012 March 1, 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[athias] 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, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
- Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
- The people collectively who are qualified for a certain position or activity.
- boyfriend material, girlfriend material, wifey material
- John Doe is a great governor, and I also believe he is presidential material.
- He is not the only one. I believe we have lots of presidential material in various public offices.
- 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.
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Usage notes
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:material
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
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.
- Sir Thomas Browne
- 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.
- Sir Thomas Browne
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin materialis.
Adjective
material (masculine and feminine 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
Declension
nominative | material |
---|---|
genitive | materialnıñ |
dative | materialğa |
accusative | materialnı |
locative | materialda |
ablative | materialdan |
Middle English
Etymology
From Latin māteriālis; equivalent to matere + -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /matɛriˈaːl/, /maːtɛriˈaːl/, /maˈtɛːrial/, /matɛriˈɛːl/, /maˈtɛːriɛl/
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
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”).
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ma.te.ˈɾjaw/
- Hyphenation: ma‧te‧ri‧al
Noun
material m (plural materiais)
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:material.
Adjective
material m or f (plural materiais, comparable)
- (chemistry) material (relating to or composed of matter)
- (religion) material; worldly (relating to physical rather than spiritual matters)
- (of a person, derogatory) materialistic; consumeristic (obsessed with consumer goods)
Quotations
For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:material.
Synonyms
- (worldly): terreno
- (materialistic): materialista, consumista
Derived terms
Spanish
Swedish
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
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
Further reading
- material in Svenska Akademiens ordbok online.