Definition of tissue

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< Tisiphone

tissue culture >

tis·sue    (tsh) KEY 

NOUN:

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.

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ETYMOLOGY:
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

OTHER FORMS:
tissu·ey(Adjective), tissu·lar(Adjective)