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fiber

 - 5 dictionary results

fi⋅ber

[fahy-ber]
–noun
1. a fine, threadlike piece, as of cotton, jute, or asbestos.
2. a slender filament: a fiber of platinum.
3. filaments collectively.
4. matter or material composed of filaments: a plastic fiber.
5. something resembling a filament.
6. an essential character, quality, or strength: people of strong moral fiber.
7. Botany.
a. filamentous matter from the bast tissue or other parts of plants, used for industrial purposes.
b. a slender, threadlike root of a plant.
c. a slender, tapered cell which, with like cells, serves to strengthen tissue.
8. Anatomy, Zoology. a slender, threadlike element or cell, as of nerve, muscle, or connective tissue.
9. Nutrition. Also called bulk, dietary fiber, roughage.
a. the structural part of plants and plant products that consists of carbohydrates, as cellulose and pectin, that are wholly or partially indigestible and when eaten stimulate peristalsis in the intestine.
b. food containing a high amount of such carbohydrates, as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
10. Chemistry. vulcanized fiber.
11. Optics. optical fiber.
Also, especially British, fibre.


Origin:
1350–1400; 1970–75 for def. 9; ME fibre (< MF) < L fibra filament


fi⋅ber⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fi·ber   (fī'bər)   
n.  
  1. A slender, elongated, threadlike object or structure.

  2. Botany One of the elongated, thick-walled cells that give strength and support to plant tissue.

  3. Anatomy

    1. Any of the filaments constituting the extracellular matrix of connective tissue.

    2. Any of various elongated cells or threadlike structures, especially a muscle fiber or a nerve fiber.

    3. A natural or synthetic filament, as of cotton or nylon, capable of being spun into yarn.

    4. Material made of such filaments.

    5. Something that provides substance or texture.

    6. Essential character: "stirred the deeper fibers of my nature" (Oscar Wilde).

    7. Basic strength or toughness; fortitude: lacking in moral fiber.

    1. A natural or synthetic filament, as of cotton or nylon, capable of being spun into yarn.

    2. Material made of such filaments.

    3. Something that provides substance or texture.

    4. Essential character: "stirred the deeper fibers of my nature" (Oscar Wilde).

    5. Basic strength or toughness; fortitude: lacking in moral fiber.

    1. Something that provides substance or texture.

    2. Essential character: "stirred the deeper fibers of my nature" (Oscar Wilde).

    3. Basic strength or toughness; fortitude: lacking in moral fiber.

  4. Coarse, indigestible plant matter, consisting primarily of polysaccharides such as cellulose, that when eaten stimulates intestinal peristalsis. Also called bulk, roughage.


[French fibre, from Old French, from Latin fibra.]
fi'bered adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fiber 
1540, from Fr. fibre, from O.Fr. fibre, from L. fibra "a fiber, filament," of uncertain origin, perhaps related to L. filum "thread," or from root of findere "to split." Fiberboard is from 1897, Fiberglas is 1937, U.S. registered trademark name; and fiber optics is 1956. Medical fibrosis (1873) is a Mod.L. hybrid, with Gk. suffix -osis.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fi·ber
Variant: or fi·bre /'fI-b&r/
Function: noun
1 : a thread or a structure or object resembling athread: as a : a strand of nerve tissue : AXON, DENDRITE b : one of the filaments composing most of the intercellular matrix of connective tissue c : one of the elongated contractile cells ofmuscle tissue
2 : mostly indigestible material in food that stimulates the intestine to peristalsis called also bulk, dietary fiber, roughage
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

fiber fi·ber (fī'bər)
n.

  1. A slender thread or filament.

  2. Extracellular filamentous structures such as collagenic or elastic connective tissue fibers.

  3. The nerve cell axon with its glial envelope.

  4. An elongated threadlike cell, such as a muscle cell or one of the epithelial cells of the lens of the eye.

  5. Coarse, indigestible plant matter, consisting primarily of polysaccharides such as cellulose, that when eaten stimulates intestinal peristalsis. Also called roughage.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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