ma·te·ri·al / məˈti(ə)rēəl/ • n. 1. the matter from which a thing is or can be made: goats can eat more or less any plant material | materials such as brass highly flammable materials. ∎  (usu. materials) things needed for an activity: cleaning materials. ∎  a person of a specified quality or suitability: he's not really Olympic material. 2. facts, information, or ideas for use in creating a book or other work: there is much good material here for priests to use in sermons. ∎  items, esp. songs or jokes, comprising a performer's act: a band playing original material. 3. cloth or fabric: a piece of dark material | dress materials. • adj. 1. denoting or consisting of physical objects rather than the mind or spirit: the material world moral and material support. ∎  concerned with physical needs or desires: material living standards have risen. ∎  concerned with the matter of reasoning, not its form: political conflict lacks mathematical or material certitude. 2. important; essential; relevant: the insects did not do any material damage to the crop. ∎  chiefly Law (of evidence or a fact) significant, influential, or relevant, esp. to the extent of determining a cause or affecting a judgment: information that could be material to a murder inquiry. ORIGIN: late Middle English (in the sense ‘relating to matter’): from late Latin materialis, adjective from Latin materia ‘matter.’

MATERIAL

Important; affecting the merits of a case; causing a particular course of action; significant; substantial. A description of the quality of evidence that possesses such substantialprobativevalue as to establish the truth or falsity of a point in issue in a lawsuit.

A material fact is an occurrence, event, or information that is sufficiently significant to influence an individual into acting in a certain way, such as entering into a contract. In formal court procedures, a material fact is anything needed to prove one party's case, or tending to establish a point that is crucial to a person's position.

A material issue is a question that is in dispute between two parties involved in litigation, and that must be answered in order for the conflict to be resolved.

A material witness is a person whose testimony is a necessary element of a lawsuit. An individual who is considered a material witness can be compelled to appear in court and provide testimony. In the event that the person's safety is endangered as a result of his or her planned or actual testimony, he or she may be given legal protection or held in protective custody.

material consisting of matter XIV; pert. to matter; of substantial import XVI; sb. pl. XVI. ME. materiel (rare), -ial — (O)F. matériel, † -ial — late L. māteriālis, f. māteria matter; see -AL1.
Hence materialism XVIII, materialist XVII, materialize XVIII.

material •beau idéal, ideal, real, surreal •labial • microbial • connubial •adverbial, proverbial •prandial • radial • medial • mondial •cordial, exordial, primordial •custodial, plasmodial •preludial • collegial • vestigial •monarchial • Ezekiel • bronchial •parochial • pallial • Belial •familial, filial •proemial • binomial • Nathaniel •bicentennial, biennial, centennial, decennial, millennial, perennial, Tenniel, triennial •cranial •congenial, genial, menial, venial •finial, lineal, matrilineal, patrilineal •corneal •baronial, ceremonial, colonial, matrimonial, monial, neocolonial, patrimonial, testimonial •participial • marsupial •burial, Meriel •terrestrial •actuarial, adversarial, aerial, areal, bursarial, commissarial, filarial, malarial, notarial, secretarial, vicarial •Gabriel •atrial, patrial •vitriol •accessorial, accusatorial, advertorial, ambassadorial, arboreal, armorial, auditorial, authorial, boreal, censorial, combinatorial, consistorial, conspiratorial, corporeal, curatorial, dictatorial, directorial, editorial, equatorial, executorial, gladiatorial, gubernatorial, immemorial, imperatorial, janitorial, lavatorial, manorial, marmoreal, memorial, monitorial, natatorial, oratorial, oriel, pictorial, piscatorial, prefectorial, professorial, proprietorial, rectorial, reportorial, sartorial, scriptorial, sectorial, senatorial, territorial, tonsorial, tutorial, uxorial, vectorial, visitorial •Umbriel • industrial •arterial, bacterial, cereal, criterial, ethereal, ferial, funereal, immaterial, imperial, magisterial, managerial, material, ministerial, presbyterial, serial, sidereal, venereal •mercurial, Muriel, seigneurial, tenurial, Uriel •entrepreneurial •axial, biaxial, coaxial, triaxial •uncial • lacteal •bestial, celestial •gluteal •convivial, trivial •jovial, synovial •alluvial, diluvial, fluvial, pluvial •colloquial, ventriloquial •gymnasial • ecclesial • ambrosial