FIBER


Meaning of FIBER in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈfī-bər ]

noun

Etymology: Middle French fibre, from Latin fibra

Date: 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. : mostly indigestible material in food that stimulates the intestine to peristalsis — called also bulk, roughage

2. : material made of fibers ; especially : vulcanized fiber

3.

a. : an element that gives texture or substance

b. : basic toughness : strength , fortitude

c. : essential structure or character

the very fiber of a person's being

• fi·bered -bərd adjective

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.