Main Entry:

fi·ber

Pronunciation:

\ˈfī-bər\

Function:

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 fiber3 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