German

Noun

Material n ‎(genitive Materials or Materiales, plural Materialien)

1. material (matter)

Derived terms

• Rohmaterial

English

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.

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.

Antonyms

• (wordly): spiritual
• (significant): immaterial

Derived terms

Translations

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, An Autobiography, Part II, chapter4:

     Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.

5. A person who is qualified for a certain position or activity.

   John Doe is a great governor, and I also believe he is presidential material.‎

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.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:material

Derived terms

Related terms

• matter

Translations

See also

• materiel

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

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin materialis.

Adjective

material m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural materials)

1. material

Noun

material m ‎(plural materials)

1. material

Related terms

• matèria

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Latin materialis

Noun

material

1. material

Declension

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, ISBN 966-7980-89-8

Galician

Noun

material m ‎(plural materiais)

1. material

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.te.ɾi.ˈaʊ/
• Hyphenation: ma‧te‧ri‧al

Etymology

From Late Latin materialis, from Latin materia ‎(“wood, material, substance”) from mater ‎(“mother”).

Adjective

material ‎(plural materiais, comparable)

1. material

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:material.

Noun

material m (plural pt)

1. material

Quotations

For usage examples of this term, see Citations:material.

Spanish

Adjective

material m, f ‎(plural materiales)

1. material

Noun

material m ‎(plural materiales)

1. material

Related terms

• materialismo
• materialista
• materia

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

material n

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

Declension

Related terms

• bildmaterial
• forskningsmaterial
• informationsmaterial
• materialförvaltare
• materialism
• materialist
• materialkategori
• materialprovning
• materialtyp
• materiel
• materiell
• textmaterial
• tidningsmaterial