textile

[teks-tahyl, -til]

noun

1. any cloth or goods produced by weaving, knitting, or felting.

2. a material, as a fiber or yarn, used in or suitable for weaving.

   Glass can be used as a textile.

adjective

1. woven or capable of being woven.

   textile fabrics.

2. of or relating to weaving.

3. of or relating to textiles or the production of textiles.

   the textile industry.

textile

/ ˈtɛkstaɪl /

noun

1. any fabric or cloth, esp woven

2. raw material suitable to be made into cloth; fibre or yarn

3. a non-nudist, as described by nudists; one who wears clothes

adjective

1. of or relating to fabrics or the making of fabrics

Word History and Origins

Origin of textile¹

1520–30; < Latin textilis woven, textile (noun use of neuter) woven fabric, equivalent to text ( us ), past participle of texere to weave + -ilis, -ile -ile

Word History and Origins

Origin of textile¹

C17: from Latin textilis woven, from texere to weave

Example Sentences

As America moved to mechanized textile mills, telegraphs and urbanization, that created demand for factory workers, machinists and communications clerks.

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People who had migrated from their family farms to the coal camps and textile mills that had promised greater opportunity were forced to return home, including Colored men who had worked in the coal mines.

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The city of Narva in Estonia, once a textiles hub for the Russian Empire, is now host to Europe’s biggest production plant for the kinds of rare-earth magnets needed in electric cars and wind turbines.

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The original Luddites—English textile workers who objected to mechanical looms and destroyed them in protest—believed they were fighting for their very existence.

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The joint statements say that the administration will also reduce tariffs on certain textile and apparel products from Guatemala and El Salvador that had previously been covered by a free-trade agreement with those countries.

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Related Words

• cloth 
• fiber 
• goods 
• yarn