[fi.ber] or fi.bre n [F fibre, fr. L fibra] (1540) 1: a thread or a structure or object resembling a thread: as a (1): a slender root (as of a grass) (2): an elongated tapering thick-walled plant cell void at maturity that imparts elasticity, flexibility, and tensile strength b (1): a strand of nerve tissue: axon, dendrite (2): one of the filaments composing most of the intercellular matrix of connective tissue (3): one of the elongated contractile cells of muscle tissue c: a slender and greatly elongated natural or synthetic filament (as of wool, cotton, asbestos, gold, glass, or rayon) typically capable of being spun into yarn d: indigestible material in human food that stimulates the intestine to peristalsis--called also bulk, roughage
2: material made of fibers; esp: vulcanized fiber 3 a: an element that gives texture or substance b: basic toughness: strength, fortitude c: essential structure or character "the very ~ of a person's being" -- fi.bered adj