I. ˈti(ˌ)shü, ˈtish(ˌ)yü, ˈti(ˌ)shu̇, ˈtish(ˌ)yu̇, before a vowel often -_sh(y)əw; chiefly South -_sh(y)ə before a consonant or pause or before a vowel in a following word; chiefly Brit ˈti(ˌ)syü or ˈti(ˌ)syu̇ or ˈtisyəw; chiefly dial ˈtishē or -shi in “tissue paper” noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English tissu, from Old French, from past participle of tistre to weave, from Latin texere — more at technical
1.
a.
(1) archaic : a rich ornamented cloth usually of silk interwoven with gold or silver threads
(2) : a fine lightweight fabric often sheer or semitransparent ; especially : a gauze of silk or wool
b. : something resembling a fabric of tissue : an intricate or interrelated number of things forming a web : a complicated mesh
the testimony … is a tissue of lies — W.A.White
most battlefield history of the past is a tissue of myths — S.L.A.Marshall
2.
a. : tissue paper
b. : carbon paper 2
c. : cleansing tissue
3.
a. : an aggregate of cells usually of a particular kind or kinds together with their intercellular substance that form one of the structural materials out of which the body of a plant or an animal is built up — see collenchyma , parenchyma , prosenchyma , sclerenchyma ; connective tissue , epithelium , muscle nerve 2
b. : something resembling the living tissue of a plant or animal
give vitality and vigor to the tissues of our law — B.N.Cardozo
collective bargaining … is part of the living tissue of society — Current Biography
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from tissu tissue
: resembling a fabric of tissue in weight, texture, or appearance : characterized by unusual sheerness
tissue gingham
tissue faille
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English tissuen, from tissu tissue
: to weave into tissue : embroider by or as if by interweaving
covered with cloth of gold tissued upon blue — Francis Bacon
IV. transitive verb
: to remove (as cleansing cream) with a tissue