material

See also: Material, materiál, and materiał

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”)). Doublet of materiel.

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.
- 1913, Alfred Bowyer Sharpe, Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Evil
  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.
- 1685 March 20 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 10 March 1685]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], volume I, 2nd edition, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, OCLC 976971842:
  discourse, which was always material, not trifling
- 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], OCLC 153628242, book I, page 3:
  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

Terms derived from material (adjective)

material breach
material cause

Translations

related to matter

Arabic: مَادِّيّ‎ (māddiyy)
Armenian: նյութական (hy) (nyutʿakan)
Belarusian: матэрыя́льны (materyjálʹny)
Bulgarian: материален (bg) (materialen), веществен (bg) (veštestven)
Catalan: material (ca)
Czech: materiálový
Danish: materiel
Dutch: materieel (nl), materiële (nl)
Esperanto: materia (eo)
Finnish: materiaalinen, aineellinen (fi)
Galician: material (gl) f or m
German: materiell (de)
Greek: υλικός (el) (ylikós)
Ancient: ὑλικός (hulikós)
Hungarian: anyagi (hu)
Ido: materiala (io)
Irish: ábhartha
Italian: materiale (it) m
Latin: corporeus m
Macedonian: материја́лен (materijálen)
Maori: ōkiko
Middle English: material, beestly, bestial
Norwegian: materiell
Polish: materialny (pl)
Portuguese: material (pt)
Romanian: material (ro)
Russian: мате́риа́льный (ru) (matériálʹnyj)
Spanish: material (es)
Swedish: materiell (sv), compounds with materia (sv) c and material (sv) n
Ukrainian: матеріа́льний (materiálʹnyj)
Volapük: stöfik (vo)

worldly

Arabic: مَادِّيّ‎ (māddiyy)
Armenian: նյութական (hy) (nyutʿakan)
Bulgarian: светски (bg) (svetski)
Catalan: material (ca)
Czech: hmotný (cs), materiální (cs)
Danish: materiel
Dutch: materieel (nl), materiële (nl), wereldlijk (nl), wereldlijke (nl)
Finnish: maallinen (fi), materiaalinen
French: matériel (fr)
Galician: material (gl) f, m
German: materiell (de)
Greek: υλικός (el) (ylikós)
Hungarian: anyagi (hu), materiális (hu)
Irish: ábhartha
Italian: materiale (it)
Middle English: material
Norwegian: materiell
Persian: مادی‎ (fa) (mâddi)
Polish: materialny (pl) m
Portuguese: material (pt), terreno (pt)
Romanian: material (ro)
Russian: мате́риа́льный (ru) (matériálʹnyj)
Spanish: material (es)
Swedish: materiell (sv), världslig (sv)

significant

Armenian: էական (hy) (ēakan), կարեւոր (hy) (karewor)
Bulgarian: важен (bg) (važen), съществен (bg) (sǎštestven)
Finnish: merkittävä (fi), olennainen (fi)
Galician: significativo m, significativa f
Greek: ουσιώδης (el) m (ousiódis), καίριος (el) m (kaírios)
Irish: ábhartha
Portuguese: significativo (pt)
Russian: ва́жный (ru) (vážnyj)
Spanish: significativo (es)

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.
- 1820, Encyclopaedia Britannica; Or A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature‎, volume 20, 6th edition, Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Company, page 501:
  In trumpets for assisting the hearing, all reverbation of the trumpet must be avoided. It must be made thick, of the least elastic materials, and covered with cloth externally. For all reverbation lasts for a short time, and produces new sounds which mix with those which are coming in.
- 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, An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN, page 4:
  Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
A person, or people collectively, who are qualified for a certain position or activity.
boy/girlfriend material
marriage material
We have lots of presidential material in various public offices.
- 2021 November 20, Alex Williams, “To Breed or Not to Breed?”, in The New York Times‎, ISSN 0362-4331:
  Before she married her husband, Kiersten Little considered him ideal father material.
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.
(chess) All of a player's pieces and pawns on the chessboard.

Synonyms

See also Thesaurus:material

Derived terms

Terms derived from material (noun)

materialise
materialisation
materialize
materialization
materialism
materialist
material culture
material science
materials science
postmaterialism
postmaterialist
raw material
reading material

Related terms

matter

Translations

matter

Albanian: material (sq), lëndor (sq)
Arabic: مَادَّة‎ (ar) f (mādda)
Armenian: նյութ (hy) (nyutʿ)
Belarusian: матэрыя́л m (materyjál)
Bulgarian: материа́л (bg) m (materiál)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 物質／物质 (zh) (wùzhì, wùzhí), 材料 (zh) (cáiliào)
Czech: materiál (cs) m
Danish: materiale (da) n
Dutch: materiaal (nl) n, grondstof (nl) f
Esperanto: materialo (eo)
Finnish: materiaali (fi), raaka-aine (fi)
French: matériau (fr), matière (fr)
Galician: material (gl) m
German: Material (de) n, Rohstoff (de) m
Greek: υλικό (el) n (ylikó)
Ancient: ὕλη f (húlē)
Hebrew: חומר‎ (he) m (khomer)
Hungarian: anyag (hu)
Ido: materio (io)
Irish: mianach m, damhna m
Old Irish: adbar n
Italian: materiale (it)
Japanese: 物質 (ja) (ぶっしつ, busshitsu), 材料 (ja) (ざいりょう, zairyō)
Korean: 물질(物質) (ko) (muljil), 재료(材料) (ko) (jaeryo)
Latin: māteria (la) f
Latvian: materiāls m
Luxembourgish: Material n
Norwegian: materiale (no) n
Polish: materiał (pl) m
Portuguese: material (pt) m
Romanian: material (ro) n, materie (ro) f
Russian: материа́л (ru) m (materiál), вещество́ (ru) n (veščestvó)
Scottish Gaelic: adhbhar m
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: материјал m
Roman: materijal (sh) m
Spanish: material (es) m
Swedish: material (sv) n
Ukrainian: матеріа́л m (materiál)
Vietnamese: vật chất (vi) (物質)
West Frisian: materiaal n
Westrobothnian: ämn n

text

Chinese:
Mandarin: 資料／资料 (zh) (zīliào)
Danish: materiale (da) n, stof (da) n
Dutch: materiaal (nl) n
Finnish: aineisto (fi)
French: matériel (fr)
Galician: material (gl) m
German: Material (de) n
Hebrew: חומר‎ (he) m (khomer)
Hungarian: anyag (hu)
Japanese: 資料 (ja) (しりょう, shiryō), 題材 (ja) (だいざい, daizai)
Korean: 자료(資料) (ko) (jaryo)
Latin: verba scriptoris f pl
Luxembourgish: Material n
Norwegian: stoff (no)
Persian: مطلب‎ (fa) (matlab)
Portuguese: matéria (pt) f
Romanian: material (ro) n
Russian: материа́л (ru) m (materiál)
Swedish: material (sv) n

sample or specimens for study

Bulgarian: материал (bg) m (material)
Finnish: aineisto (fi)
French: matériel (fr) m
Italian: materiale (it)
Portuguese: material (pt)
Romanian: material (ro) n
Russian: материа́л (ru) m (materiál)
Spanish: material (es)

cloth

Bulgarian: материя (bg) f (materija)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 布 (zh) (bù), 面料 (zh) (miànliào)
Danish: stof (da) n
Dutch: stof (nl) m, naaigoed n
Esperanto: ŝtofo
Finnish: kangas (fi)
French: étoffe (fr) f, tissu (fr) m
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: Stoff (de) m
Greek: ύφασμα (el) n (ýfasma)
Italian: materiale (it)
Japanese: 素材 (ja) (そざい, sozai), 生地 (ja) (きじ, kiji), 布 (ja) (ぬの, nuno)
Maori: papanga
Norwegian: stoff (no) n, tøy (no) n
Polish: materiał (pl) m
Portuguese: tecido (pt) m, pano (pt) m
Romanian: stofă (ro) f, material textil n, pânză (ro) f
Russian: материа́л (ru) m (materiál), мате́рия (ru) f (matérija), ткань (ru) f (tkanʹ)
Scottish Gaelic: adhbhar m
Swedish: material (sv) n

qualified people

Finnish: aines (fi)
Japanese: 人材 (ja) (じんざい, jinzai)
Korean: 인재(人材) (ko) (injae)

related data of various kinds collected as the basis for a document or book

Finnish: aineisto (fi)
French: documentation (fr) f

substance that something is made or composed of

Finnish: aine (fi), aines (fi)
Portuguese: matéria (pt) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} materialo (eo)
Norman: ^{(please verify)} matériel m (Jersey)

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.
- 1642, Tho[mas] Browne, “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici. […], 4th edition, London: […] E. Cotes for Andrew Crook […], published 1656, OCLC 927499620:
  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

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin materialis.

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /mə.tə.ɾiˈal/

(Valencian) IPA^(key): /ma.te.ɾiˈal/

Adjective

material (masculine and feminine plural materials)

material (clarification of this definition is needed)

Noun

material m (plural materials)

material (clarification of this definition is needed)

Related terms

matèria

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Latin materialis.

Noun

material

material

Declension

Declension of material

nominative	material
genitive	materialnıñ
dative	materialğa
accusative	materialnı
locative	materialda
ablative	materialdan

References

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

Galician

Noun

material m (plural materiais)

material

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch materiaal, from Middle Dutch materiael, from Middle French material, from Old French material, from Latin māteriālis. Doublet of materiel.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ma.teˈri.al]
Hyphenation: ma‧té‧ri‧al

Noun

material (plural material-material, first-person possessive materialku, second-person possessive materialmu, third-person possessive materialnya)

material: matter which may be shaped or manipulated, particularly in making something.

Related terms

materi
materialistis
materiel

Middle English

Alternative forms

materiel, materiall, materyal, materyall, matryal

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

råmaterial

References

“material” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin māteriālis, from Latin māteria (“wood, material, substance”), from māter (“mother”).

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ma.te.ɾiˈaw/ [ma.te.ɾɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ma.teˈɾjaw/ [ma.teˈɾjaʊ̯]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /mɐ.tɨˈɾjal/ [mɐ.tɨˈɾjaɫ]

Rhymes: -al, -aw
Hyphenation: ma‧te‧ri‧al

Noun

material m (plural materiais)

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

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:material.

Adjective

material m or f (plural materiais)

(chemistry) material (relating to or composed of matter)
(religion) material; worldly (relating to physical rather than spiritual matters)
Synonym: terreno
(of a person, derogatory) materialistic; consumeristic (obsessed with consumer goods)
Synonyms: materialista, consumista

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:material.

Derived terms

materialismo
materialista
materialmente

Related terms

matéria

Romanian

Etymology

From French matériel, from Latin materialis.

Noun

material n (plural materiali)

material

Declension

Declension of material

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) material	materialul	(niște) materiali	materialile
genitive/dative	(unui) material	materialului	(unor) materiali	materialilor
vocative	materialule		materialilor

Spanish

Etymology

From Late Latin māteriālis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mateˈɾjal/ [ma.t̪eˈɾjal]
Rhymes: -al
Syllabification: ma‧te‧rial

Adjective

material (plural materiales)

material

Noun

material m (plural materiales)

material

Derived terms

materialmente
material particulado

Related terms

materialismo
materialista
materia

Swedish

Pronunciation

Audio (file)

Noun

material n

a material
a matter, a subject (of study)

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

material

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Verb

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Noun

Declension

References

Galician

Noun

Indonesian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Descendants

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Noun

Derived terms

References

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Quotations

Adjective

Quotations

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Romanian

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Further reading