1.1 Man-made polymers can be combined during manufacture, or natural polymers can be formed during growth, to produce multicomponent fibers having special properties such as cross dyeability, differential shrinkage, or bulk. This standard contains terms which can be used to describe the physical arrangement of components of such fibers. The schematic diagram in provides a guide for interpreting the terminology used in describing two- and three-component fibers, but is not intended to be limiting. Some examples of usage are given in , and a bibliography of related literature is given in .

1.2 For definitions of other textile terms, refer to Terminology D 123.