warp and woof

an immaterial thing upon which something else rests regards individual freedom and democracy as the warp and woof of any civilized society Synonyms basis, bedrock, bottom, cornerstone, footing, foundation, ground, groundwork, keystone, root, underpinning, warp, baseRelated Words anchorage, bed, brace, bulwark, buttress, framework, infrastructure, mount, prop, shore, stay, substratum, substructure, support; assumption, justification, premise (also premiss), presumption, presupposition, rationale, supposition, theory, thesis, warrant; backbone, center, core, cornerstone, eye, focus, heart, hub, kernel, keystone, nucleus, seat; essence, quintessence, soul, touchstone