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Origin and history of texture

texture(n.)

early 15c., "network, structure" (earliest in anatomy), from Latin textura "construction, structure," a transferred sense, literally "web, structure," from stem of texere "to weave" (from PIE root *teks- "to weave, to fabricate, to make; make wicker or wattle framework").

It is attested by 1610s in reference to immaterial things, "nature or quality," and by 1650s in reference to the structural character of a physical surface.

texture(v.)

"give a (particular) texture to; make not smooth or plain; form a texture of or with," 1888 (implied in textured), from texture (n.). Earlier it meant "construct by weaving" (1690s).

also from 1888

Entries linking to texture

textural(adj.)

"of or relating to texture," by 1836, from texture (n.) + -al (1). Related: Texturally.

*teks-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to weave," also "to fabricate," especially with an ax, also "to make wicker or wattle fabric for (mud-covered) house walls."

It might form all or part of: architect; context; dachshund; polytechnic; pretext; subtle; technical; techno-; technology; tectonic; tete; text; textile; tiller (n.1) "bar to turn the rudder of a boat;" tissue; toil (n.2) "net, snare."

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit taksati "he fashions, constructs," taksan "carpenter;" Avestan taša "ax, hatchet," thwaxš- "be busy;" Old Persian taxš- "be active;" Latin texere "to weave, fabricate," tela "web, net, warp of a fabric;" Greek tekton "carpenter," tekhnē "art;" Old Church Slavonic tesla "ax, hatchet;" Lithuanian tašau, tašyti "to carve;" Old Irish tal "cooper's ax;" Old High German dahs, German Dachs "badger," literally "builder;" Hittite taksh- "to join, unite, build."

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    early 14c., "a small, hard seed," especially of one of the cereal plants, also as a collective singular, "seed of wheat and allied grasses used as food;" also "something resembling grain; a hard particle of other substances" (salt, sand, later gunpowder, etc.), from Old French gr
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    , text, treatise," in Late Latin "written account, content, characters used in a document," from Latin textus "style or texture...After long practice, their work took on such an even, flexible texture that they called the written page a textus, which...
    puff
    .; that of "small pad of a downy or flossy texture for applying powder to skin or hair" is from 1650s....
    harsh
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    borage
    But OED and other sources find it rather to be from Latin borra "rough hair, short wool," in reference to the texture of...
    serge
    late 14c., sarge, in reference to a woolen cloth in use in the Middle Ages, apparently of a coarse texture, from Old French...
    bombazine
    "cotton cloth," from Medieval Latin bombacinium "silk texture," from Late Latin bombycinium, neuter of bombycinius "silken...
    make-up
    also makeup, "manner in which something is put together," 1821, from the verbal phrase (see make (v.) + up (adv.)). To make up as "build, collect into one form by bringing together" is from late 14c., also "prepare." It is attested from late 15c. as "supply as an equivalent," fro
    lineament
    early 15c., liniament, "distinctive feature of the body, outline," from Latin lineamentum "contour, outline; a feature," literally "a line, stroke, mark," from lineare "to reduce to a straight line" (here apparently in an unrecorded sense "trace lines"), from linea "string, threa
    character
    mid-14c., carecter, "symbol marked or branded on the body;" mid-15c., "symbol or drawing used in sorcery;" late 15c., "alphabetic letter, graphic symbol standing for a sound or syllable;" from Old French caratere "feature, character" (13c., Modern French caractère), from Latin ch

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