While the broad and versatile English word material has been in the language for centuries, materiel, with an e in the last syllable, is a more recent arrival from French. In English, materiel has one narrow definition: the equipment, apparatus, and supplies of a military force. It can apply to weapons, aircraft, parts, support equipment, ships, and almost any other type of equipment used by the military. Unlike material, materiel is pronounced with the final syllable stressed.





Some publications retain the French aigu accent on the first e—matériel—but in English the mark is unnecessary.






Examples