noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈtæ.fɪ.tə/
/ˈtæ.fə.tə/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:T AE1 F AH0 T AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A crisp, smooth woven fabric made from silk or synthetic fibers.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a crisp smooth lustrous fabric
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: fabric, cloth, material, textile
History
Etymology
From Late Middle English, from Old French taffetas, from Medieval Latin taffata, from Classical Persian تافته (tāfta), from تافتن (tāftan).
Across languages
Translations
42 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Belarusian:
тафта
(tafta)
— woven fabric
Breton:
taftas
— woven fabric
Bulgarian:
тафта
(tafta)
— woven fabric
Catalan:
tafetà
— woven fabric
Chinese Mandarin:
塔夫綢 /塔夫绸
(tǎfūchóu)
— woven fabric
