Spanish word

tela

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈtela/

Meaning

  • feminine nounfabric

Example

Voy a comprar tela para coser una camisa.

I'm going to buy fabric to sew a shirt.

Illustration for tela (fabric)

More examples

¿Tienen tela de algodón en varios colores?

Do you have cotton fabric in various colors?

Core concept

Woven textile formed by crossing warp and weft threads.

Common phrases

  • tela de algodón

    cotton fabric

  • comprar tela

    buy fabric

  • trozo de tela

    piece of fabric

Similar words

tejido: Fabric produced by interlacing yarns on a loom.
textil: Cloth intended for making clothing and garments.
paño: Small cloth for wiping or polishing surfaces.
trapo: Old raglike cloth used for cleaning and wiping up dirt.

Definition in Spanish

Material flexible formado por el entrelazado de hilos que sirve para confeccionar prendas, cortinas y otros objetos.

Word origin

From Latin tela 'woven web', Spanish tela keeps that medieval sense and connects with telar 'loom' and the verb entelar.

Usage tips

  • Unlike ropa (clothing), tela refers to the material for making items, so speakers state the fibre and the measure (tela de seda, un metro) when buying.

Other meanings

  • textilenoun

Word lists with this word