fabricn.
/ˈfabrɪk/, /ˈfeɪbrɪk/, U.S. /ˈfæbrɪk/ I. A product of skilled workmanship.figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 429 You may as well Forbid the Sea for to obey the Moone, As..shake The Fabrick of his Folly. View more context for this quotation1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 91 Men..inspired..to erect the Fabrick of the Church.1788 T. Reid Aristotle's Logic ii. §2. 30 Force of genius sufficient to shake the Aristotelian fabric.1870 J. H. Burton Hist. Scotl. to 1688 VI. lxviii. 418 The whole fabric of his ambition was tottering.† 2. A contrivance; an engine or appliance. Obsolete.figurative and in extended use.1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic ii. 17 The fine nervous fabric which constitutes the retina.1859 C. Kingsley Misc. (1860) II. 119 The villain of the piece..being a rough fabric, is easily manufactured with rough tools.
1. An edifice, a building.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun]
bottleeOE
houseeOE
boldOE
building1297
builda1387
edificec1386
mansion1389
bigginga1400
housinga1400
edification1432
edifying1432
fabric1483
edify1555
structure1560
erection1609
framec1639
bastiment1679
drum1846
dump1899
gaff1932
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 275/1 He had neuer studye in newe fabrykes ne buyldynges.
a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) II. 32 Gibbes the last Prior..spent a great summe of Mony on that Fabrike.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1666 (1955) III. 460 The august fabricque of Christ church.
1708 Chamberlayne's Magnæ Britanniæ Notitia (1743) ii. i. ii. 326 Fabricks..said to have been built by the Picts.
1749 T. Nugent Grand Tour IV. 73 A vaulted fabric without either wood or iron-work, three stories high.
1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain iii. xvi. 152 Never mortal builder's hand This enduring fabric plann'd.
1865 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend II. iii. vi. 49 The ruinous fabric was very rich in the interior.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > (a) means > equipment for any action or undertaking > a device or contrivance
compassinga1300
graithc1375
jetc1380
cautelc1440
quaint?a1450
invention1546
trick1548
frame1558
fashion1562
device1570
conveyance1596
address1598
molition1598
fabric1600
machine1648
fancy1665
art1667
fanglementa1670
convenience1671
conveniency1725
contraption1825
affair1835
rig1845
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxv. xi. 553 When..[the city of Tarentum] began to be assailed with fabricks.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1243 What need had he to use any such tragique engine, or fabricke to work such feats.
1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 31 That here that fabrique vtterly did faile.
1657 T. Reeve God's Plea for Nineveh 40 Tiberius..there invented his detestable Fabricks of lust.
3.
a. ‘Any body formed by the conjunction of dissimilar parts’ (Johnson); a frame, structure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > [noun] > a structure
machine1545
framework1578
compact1600
fabrication1602
machination1605
compound1607
structure1612
compilement1624
fabric1633
contignation1635
artifice1700
mechanism1712
creel1788
composition1793
arrangement1800
1633 G. Herbert Search in Temple vii Lord, dost thou some new fabrick mold Which favour winnes..leaving th' old Unto their Sinnes?
1674 J. Owen Disc. Holy Spirit (1693) 25 This Goodly Fabrick of Heaven and Earth.
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity iii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 483 All the parts of this great fabrick change, Quit their old station, and primeval frame.
1744 J. Thomson Spring in Seasons (new ed.) 29 Dry Sprigs of Trees, in artful Fabrick laid.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. l. 476 In this egg-shell fabric the Esquimaux navigator..encounters risks which..the men of New Bedford..would rightfully shrink from.
1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 241 The armour-plates and other necessary portions of the ponderous fabric.
b. esp. with reference to the animal body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > [noun]
featurec1325
making1340
staturec1380
statea1387
bonea1400
figurec1400
makec1425
corpulence1477
corsage1481
makdom1488
mouldc1550
corporature1555
frame1566
dimension1600
limit1608
set1611
timber1612
compact1646
taille1663
fabric1695
moulding1815
physique1826
tournure1827
build1832
form1849
body type1866
body build1907
somatotype1940
size1985
1695 Ld. Preston tr. Boethius Of Consol. Philos. ii. 84 The whole Fabrick of Man, Body and Soul, is dissolv'd.
1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. i. 1 To..examine this outward fabrick the body!
a1848 R. W. Hamilton Rewards & Punishm. (1853) i. 49 The wonderful fabric of the human body.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 228 The solid animal fabric returns to swell the sum of the fluids and gases.
c. figurative.
ΚΠ
a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. i. ii, in Wks. (1640) III The great Letters serve to begin Sentences..The lesse make the fabricke of speech.
1669 W. Penn No Cross, No Crown xii. §10 Death ends the Proud Man's Fabrick.
1785 T. Reid Ess. Intellect. Powers Ded. To pick holes in the fabric of knowledge wherever it is weak and faulty.
1816 J. Scott Paris Revisited x. 380 A substantial fabric of public strength, freedom, and opulence.
1856 B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. (ed. 3) I. iii. 77 Questions arising out of it appertaining..to the whole fabric of society.
4. A manufactured material; now only a ‘textile fabric’, a woven stuff.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > [noun]
stuff1555
fabric1753
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun]
workeOE
draperya1300
cloth1377
toilec1440
ware1442
stuff1604
drape1665
fabric1753
kain1783
good1831
material1848
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacture or production > [noun] > manufactured article or product
workOE
making1340
manufacture1587
preparation1590
manufactory1653
manufact1664
manufacturage1665
fabric1753
end-product1939
run-off1952
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > woven
webOE
webOE
wefta1398
stuff1462
tissue1565
weave1581
contexture1603
textile1626
texturea1656
woof1674
webbing1739
fabric1753
mail net1875
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xi. 56 We are every day making new fabrics.
1791 W. Robertson Hist. Disquis. Knowl. Ancients India ii. 88 Working up its [sc. the silk-worm's] productions into..a variety of elegant fabrics.
1832 G. R. Porter Treat. Manuf. Porcelain & Glass 10 The fabrics produced..were wanting in most of the qualities essential to good porcelain.
1837 H. Martineau Society in Amer. II. 227 The woollen fabric manufactured in these establishments.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People v. §1. 218 Up to Edward's time few woollen fabrics seem to have been woven in England.
1883 Stubbs' Mercantile Circular 8 Nov. 982/2 The people in Nagasaki are fast going back to their old practice of spinning this class of fabric for themselves.
II. Senses relating to the action of constructing or manufacture.
5.
a. The action or process of framing or constructing; erection (of a building); formation (of an animal body or its parts). Now only spec. The construction and maintenance (of a church); = ecclesiastical Latin fabrica ecclesiæ.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > [noun] > formation
fabric1611
the world > existence and causation > creation > [noun] > construction
building1297
performinga1425
facturec1425
constructionc1440
construingc1440
making-upa1525
compoundingc1529
composition1555
frame1558
compacting1561
composing1574
architecture1590
composure1609
fabric1611
compiling1624
compagination1646
confection1652
composal1700
constitutinga1713
constructure1712
constructing1788
confecting1863
society > faith > artefacts > sanctuary or holy place > construction or measurement > [noun] > construction
kirklOE
fabric1611
church building1659
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > [noun]
bigginga1325
rearinga1325
buildingc1394
edifying1432
upbringing1484
rising?a1500
upmaking1513
upbigging1525
edification1549
erecting1553
structure1604
erection1614
compilementa1639
architecture1646
exstruction1652
built1654
edifice1663
fabric1730
upbuilding1732
builth1805
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Fabrique d'vn'Esglise, The fabricke, raparation, or maintenance of a Church.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis v. 72 The..providence of God manifested in the fabrique of the eye-lids.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 17 The..prodigious skilfulness of Nature in the fabrick of so Minute an Animal.
1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 43 He attributed the Fabrick of the Colosseum to him.
1760 E. Burke Ess. Abridgm. Eng. Hist. 13 Britains..so expert in the fabric of those chariots.
1840 H. H. Milman Hist. Christianity III. iv. i. 382 The other [third] to the fabric and the poor.
b. attributive in fabric-fund, fabric-lands, fabric-roll.
ΚΠ
1672 T. Manley Νομοθετης: Cowell's Interpreter sig. Dd2vb Fabrick-Lands, Are Lands given to the rebuilding, repair, or maintenance of Cathedrals, or other Churches.
1704 Dict. Rusticum Fabrick-lands, are Lands given towards the Maintenance, Rebuilding, or Repair of Cathedral, or other Churches.
1848 J. J. S. Wharton Law Lexicon 244/1 Fabric Lands, property given towards the rebuilding or repairing of cathedrals and churches.
1859 Raine (title) The Fabric Rolls of York Minster (Surtees).
1875 J. T. Fowler Acts Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1875) Index 392/2 Fabric fund of Ripon.
6. Kind or method of construction or formation.† a. of things in general, buildings, instruments, etc. Also style (of architecture). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [noun] > style of creation or construction
shaft888
suitc1330
generationa1382
makinga1398
frame?1520
workmanship1578
imagerya1592
model1597
fabricaturec1600
builtc1615
fabric1644
module1649
get-up1857
fashioning1870
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > [noun]
shapec1050
composition1382
temperc1400
confectionc1420
temperament1471
frame?1520
compage1550
architecture1590
compacture1590
structure?1591
fabricaturec1600
constitution1601
membrature1606
composture1614
compositure1625
contexturea1639
composure1639
economy1644
fabric1644
conformation1646
composier1648
constructurea1652
compages1660
mechanism1662
compound1671
construction1707
componency1750
formation1774
make-up1821
1644 J. Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 82 The fabric of the Church is Gothic.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ iii. i. §16 The peculiar and admirable fabrick of the eyes.
1666 Philos. Trans. 1665–6 (Royal Soc.) 1 313 If any person..do not know the fabrick or use of any of the Instruments.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1684) 6 Architectonical Artists look narrowly upon..the fabrick of the Temple.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. iii. 277 The particular Fabricks of the great Masses of Matter, which make up the..frame of corporeal Beings.
a1701 H. Maundrell Acct. Journey from Aleppo in Journey to Jerusalem (1721) 4 The Boats are of a miserable Fabrick.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. vi. 190 To be well informed of the fabrick and strength of this fort.
1774 J. Bryant New Syst. II. 228 They were exposed upon the waters in a machine of this fabrick.
b. of manufactured materials. Chiefly of textile articles: Texture. †Also concrete a particular ‘make’ or class (of goods).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > texture of
wale1583
fabric1758
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > [noun] > specific qualities of
fabric1758
rattle1900
bulk1903
folding strength1936
wet strength1960
runnability1965
1758 J. Blake Plan Marine Syst. 8 Let a particular fabric of paper be made.
1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. xvii. ii. 77 We..conjecture, that the tents of the Patriarchs..were of the same fabric.
1879 H. Calderwood Relations Mind & Brain 55 One who is constantly at work amongst cloths of different fabric.
c. figurative.
ΚΠ
1752 D. Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 181 The fabric and constitution of our mind no more depends on our choice than that of our body.
1753 T. Smollett Ferdinand Count Fathom I. xxii. 138 Fools of each fabric, sharpers of all sorts.
1781 S. Johnson Pope in Pref. Wks. Eng. Poets VII. 261 He used almost always the same fabrick of verse.
1871 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue xi. 501 Compounds vary extremely as regards laxity or compactness of fabric.
7. concrete.
a. Of a textile article: The woven substance; tissue, fibre. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > [noun] > specifically of something immaterial
texture1611
enginery1744
machinery1758
fabric1823
structuration1925
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > [noun] > substance of
substance1591
fabric1823
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > woven > substance of
fabric1823
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 152 In following that example our bleachers destroyed the fabric of their goods.
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. ix. 364 There are minds in whose fabric the ratiocinative faculty preponderates.
1842 J. Bischoff Comprehensive Hist. Woollen Manuf. II. 228 German wool is of that inferior description which enters into the fabric of low middling cloths.
1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith i. 3 Faith in the Unseen and reverence for the Divine—are inwoven in the very fabric of our nature.
b. Occasionally used for: Structural material. Now spec. the basic structure (walls, floor, roof) of a building.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > [noun] > structural material
stuff1587
subject1590
material1624
fabric1849
society > occupation and work > materials > types of material generally > [noun] > building-material
timbera900
stuff1442
stone and mortar1534
bricks and mortar1576
building-material1833
fabric1849
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun]
frame1440
mould1570
casea1676
needlework1686
framing1703
shell1705
casework1767
breast beam1828
balloon frame1844
fabric1849
balloon framing1855
armature1878
steel frame1898
1849 R. I. Murchison Siluria iii. 42 Lime wherewith to supply the fabric of the thicker shell of other mollusca.
1850 C. G. B. Daubeny Introd. Atomic Theory (ed. 2) viii. 245 The chief constituent of the vegetable fabric.
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xx. 503 The fabric of the mill appears to have been invariably timber.
1934 H. Batsford & C. Fry Cathedrals of Eng. 4 The fabrics..form in the majority of cases a remarkable patchwork of building periods.
1955 Times 3 May 6/4 The skilled staff needed not only to maintain the fabric of the buildings but to care for the precious pictures, furniture, and gardens.
1955 Times 9 May 5/2 Much has been done..since a public appeal was opened on behalf of the fabric of Norwich Cathedral, to make this noble building safe.
III. A place of manufacture.
8. A building erected for purposes of manufacture; a place where work is carried on; a factory, manufactory. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > factory > [noun]
mill1403
work1581
factory1618
manufacture1623
manuary1625
manufactory1641
fabric1656
hong1726
plant1789
machinery1799
usine1858
oficina1889
officina1906
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Fabrick, a shop or work-house wherein any thing is framed.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xiv. 92 His fabric appeared as a little town, having about 400 looms.
1777 W. Dalrymple Trav. Spain & Portugal xxxi The Marquis..has established a fabrick of woollen cloth.
1807 R. Southey Lett. from Eng. I. iii. 33 There is a great fabric of carpets at Axminster.
1844 Fraser's Mag. 30 431/1 The first fabric of liqueurs which had any extensive renown was that of Montpellier.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations, as fabric glove, fabric hat (sense 4); fabric-faired (sense 3), fabric-printing (sense 4), adjs.
ΚΠ
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 231/1 Ladies' fabric gloves.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 22 Sept. 13/2 They offer great opportunities for colour schemes, those fabric hats.
1916 To-Day 25 Nov. 92/2 Even his warm winter gloves are made of cotton..‘fabric’ gloves, such as most men wear in the summer.
1934 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 38 670 Fabric-faired girder designs are diminishing.
1946 Nature 2 Nov. 614/2 A rotational viscometer for fabric-printing thickeners.
1971 ‘A. Gilbert’ Tenant for Tomb i. 8 She..carried a big old-fashioned tapestry bag and wore fabric gloves.
Draft additions December 2004
fabric softener n. a liquid added when washing clothes to soften and freshen cloth and reduce static; (also) = fabric softener sheet n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1955 N.Y. Times 16 June 37/5 (advt.) Staley sta-puff fabric softener qt. bt. 49 ¢.
1976 Business Week (Nexis) 21 June 96 Women rate fabric softeners, the sheet type that go into the clothes dryer, as the most important new consumer product to come on the marketplace last year.
2002 Choice Sept. 42/2 Black or grey marks on your washing..could be caused by..a waxy mixture of fabric softener and detergent.
Draft additions December 2004
fabric softener sheet n. a paper sheet impregnated with fabric softener, designed to be put with clothes into a tumble dryer.
ΚΠ
1975 Post Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 3 Dec. (advt.) Fabric softener sheets. For use in the dryer. 10-ct. pkg. 59¢.
2004 Times (Nexis) 18 Mar. ii. 13 You can put orange peel, a fabric-softener sheet or bicarbonate of soda in the shoes overnight, which should mean fresher shoes by the following morning.
Draft additions June 2014
fabric conditioner n. a liquid product used when washing clothes or other textiles to improve the condition or texture of the fabric; esp. (chiefly British) = fabric softener n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1946 Evening Independent (Massillon, Ohio) 15 May 13/3 (advt.) Can be used to waterproof any fabric or as a fabric conditioner reducing linting and wear to a minimum.
1955 Neosho (Missouri) Sunday News 27 Mar. 8/5 (advt.) Now..‘a fabric conditioner’ gives your laundry a new luxurious soft finish.
1992 S. Fry Paperweight (1993) 169 With a modern powder at today's lower temperatures and a little liquid fabric conditioner it'll come up lovely.
2013 Daily Star (Nexis) 18 June 36 The other day she asked me which fabric conditioner I use—because my washing always smells so nice.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
fabricv.
/ˈfabrɪk/, U.S. /ˈfæbrɪk/ transitive. To construct, fashion, frame, make (a material or immaterial object). Also, to fabric up = fabricate v. 1, 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > fashion, shape, or form
i-schapeOE
shapeOE
markc1330
forge1382
kneadc1400
frame?1518
fashion?1553
labour1578
appropriate1594
to shape out1600
elaborate1611
produce1611
moulda1616
fabric1623
coin1627
timber1646
laborate1662
condition1853
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > construct
workOE
dighta1175
to set upc1275
graitha1300
formc1300
pitchc1330
compoundc1374
to put togethera1387
performc1395
bigc1400
elementc1400
complexion1413
erect1417
framea1450
edifya1464
compose1481
construe1490
to lay together1530
perstruct1547
to piece together1572
condite1578
conflate1583
compile1590
to put together1591
to set together1603
draw1604
build1605
fabric1623
complicate1624
composit1640
constitute1646
compaginate1648
upa1658
complex1659
construct1663
structurate1664
structure1664
confect1677
to put up1699
rig1754
effect1791
structuralize1913
1623 tr. A. Favyn Theater of Honour & Knight-hood x. ii That [Target] of Achilles, fabrickt by the Armourer Vulcane.
1625 R. Montagu Appello Cæsarem ii. xv. 215 Such as the Papists fabricke up unto themselves in their works of Supererogation.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 35 Matters..fram'd and fabric't already to our hands.
1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 349 The polish'd Glass, whose small Convex..shews..how [Cheese-Inhabitants] Fabrick their Mansions in the harden'd milk.
1738 Common Sense (1739) II. 5 You fabrick Generals as Statuaries do Figures of Wood and Clay.
1921 Public Opinion 14 Oct. 375/1 All these were dreamed and fabricked out for immediate material benefit.
1924 W. A. White Woodrow Wilson xvi. 352 This high dream of peace, that he fabricked upon the anvil of a three years' debate.
Derivatives
ΚΠ
1698 R. Ferguson View of Ecclesiastick in Socks & Buskins 107 The Original Authors and Fabrickers of the Word [trimmer] designed to Describe those..who were neither Loyal Subjects..nor Vigorous Patrons.
ΚΠ
1698 R. Ferguson View of Ecclesiastick in Socks & Buskins 116 A key of his own Fabricking.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1483
v.1623