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tissue

 - 6 dictionary results

tis⋅sue

[tish-oo or, especially Brit., tis-yoo] noun, verb, -sued, -su⋅ing.
–noun
1. Biology. an aggregate of similar cells and cell products forming a definite kind of structural material with a specific function, in a multicellular organism.
2. tissue paper.
3. any of several kinds of soft gauzy papers used for various purposes: cleansing tissue; toilet tissue.
4. an interwoven or interconnected series or mass: a tissue of falsehoods.
5. a piece of thin writing paper on which carbon copies are made.
6. a woven fabric, esp. one of light or gauzy texture, originally woven with gold or silver: a blouse of a delicate tissue.
–verb (used with object)
7. to remove (a cosmetic or cream) with a facial tissue (often fol. by off): Tissue all cosmetics off the face before going to bed.
8. to weave, esp. with threads of gold and silver.

Origin:
1325–75; ME tissew, var. of tissu < MF, OF, n. use of ptp. of tistre to weave < L texere


tis⋅su⋅al, adjective
tis⋅su⋅ey, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tissue
tis·sue   (tĭsh'ōō)   
n.  
  1. A fine, very thin fabric, such as gauze.

  2. Tissue paper.

  3. A soft, absorbent piece of paper used as toilet paper, a handkerchief, or a towel.

  4. An interwoven or interrelated number of things; a web; a network: "The text is a tissue of mocking echoes" (Richard M. Kain).

  5. Biology An aggregation of morphologically similar cells and associated intercellular matter acting together to perform one or more specific functions in the body. There are four basic types of tissue: muscle, nerve, epidermal, and connective.


[Middle English tissu, a rich kind of cloth, from Old French, from past participle of tistre, to weave, from Latin texere; see teks- in Indo-European roots.]
tis'su·ey adj., tis'su·lar 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

tissue 
c.1366, "band or belt of rich material," from O.Fr. tissu "a ribbon, headband, belt of woven material" (c.1200), noun use of tissu "woven, interlaced," pp. of tistre "to weave," from L. textere "weave" (see texture). The biological sense is first recorded 1831, from Fr., introduced c.1800 by Fr. anatomist Marie-François-Xavier Bichal (1771-1802). Tissue-paper is from 1777, supposedly so called because it was made to be placed between tissues to protect them. Meaning "piece of absorbent paper used as a handkerchief" is from 1929.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: tis·sue
Pronunciation: 'tish-(")ü, 'tish-&(-w), chiefly Brit 'tis-(")yü
Function: noun
: an aggregate of cellsusually of a particular kind together with their intercellular substance that form one of the structural materials of a plant or an animal and that in animals include connective tissue, epithelium,muscle tissue, and nerve tissue
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

tissue tis·sue (tĭsh'&oomacr;)
n.
An aggregation of morphologically similar cells and associated intercellular matter acting together to perform specific functions in the body. There are four basic types of tissue: muscle, nerve, epithelial, and connective.

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

tissue

in physiology, a level of organization in multicellular organisms; it consists of a group of structurally and functionally similar cells and their intercellular material.

Learn more about tissue with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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