material

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)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ma‧te‧ri‧al

Adjective

material (comparative more material, superlative most material)

1. Having to do with matter; consisting of matter.

   This compound has a number of interesting material properties.

   • Whewell

     the material elements of the universe

2. Worldly, as opposed to spiritual.

   Don't let material concerns get in the way of living a happy life.

   Antonym: spiritual

3. (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

Noun

material (countable and uncountable, plural materials)

1. 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.)

2. Text written for a specific purpose.

   We were a warm-up act at the time; we didn't have enough original material to headline.

3. A sample or specimens for study.
   • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, 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 […]

4. Cloth to be made into a garment.

   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.

5. The people collectively who are qualified for a certain position or activity.

   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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Verb

material (third-person singular simple present materials, present participle materialling, simple past and past participle materialled)

1. (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.

Anagrams

• Armalite

Etymology

From Latin materialis.

Adjective

material (masculine and feminine plural materials)

1. material

Noun

material m (plural materials)

1. material

Etymology

Latin materialis

Noun

material

1. material

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

Noun

material m (plural materiais)

1. material

Etymology

From Late Latin materiale

Noun

material n (definite singular materialet, indefinite plural material or materialer, definite plural materiala or materialene)

1. alternative form of materiale

References

• “material” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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)

1. material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)
2. material (sample or specimens for study)
   1. footage (amount of film produced)
   2. (education) resources used in class
3. tackle; supplies; gear; rig (objects collected for use in a particular activity)

   material escolar ― school supplies

   material de pesca ― fishing gear

Adjective

material m, f (plural materiais, comparable)

1. (chemistry) material (relating to or composed of matter)
2. (religion) material; worldly (relating to physical rather than spiritual matters)
3. (of a person, derogatory) materialistic; consumeristic (obsessed with consumer goods)

Adjective

material (plural materiales)

1. material

Noun

material m (plural materiales)

1. material

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

material n

1. a material
2. a matter, a subject (of study)

Further reading

• material in Svenska Akademiens ordbok online.