What is fabrication? Definition and examples

Fabrication is the process of making something from semi-finished or raw materials rather than from ready-made components. In other words, it is the process of making something from scratch rather than assembling something. The term also means a lie. For example, if I say “John’s story about the elephant was a fabrication,” I mean that it was a lie.

We use the term in scientific inquiry and academic research. The term, in this context, means the deliberate misrepresentation of research results by inventing facts, i.e., making up data.

In some jurisdictions, i.e., legal systems, the deliberate misrepresentation of research data is against the law.

BusinessDictionary.com has the following meaning of the term:

“Manufacturing process in which an item is made from raw or semi-finished materials instead of being assembled from ready-made components or parts.”


Fabrication
Fabrication is the noun of the verb ‘to fabricate.’ To fabricate means to invent something with the aim of deceiving. It also means to construct or manufacture an industrial product.

Metal fabrication

Metal fabrication refers to the building of metal structures by assembling, bending, and cutting processes.

It is a value-added process that involves creating machines, parts, and structures from raw materials. A value-added process is one that adds value to a product and for which customers are willing to pay.

Fab shops bid on jobs, which are usually based on engineering drawings. If they win the contract, it means they build the product.

These fab shops offer additional value to customers because they save money. For example, they do not need to use lots of employees to find vendors of different services.

According to Wikipedia:

“Metal fabrication jobs usually start with shop drawings including precise measurements, then move to the fabrication stage and finally to the installation of the final project.”


Etymology of fabrication

Etymology is the study of where words came from, i.e., their origins. The study also includes finding out how the meanings of words have changed.

The term with the meaning “manufacturing, construction” emerged in the English language in the fifteenth century. According to etymonline.com, the term came from the Middle French word Fabrication.

The Middle French word came from the Latin word Fabricationem (nominative fabricatio), meaning “a structure, construction, a making.”

It was not until 1790 that it also meant “lying, forgery, falsehood.”