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 Annex A1 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 Annex A2, and a bibliography of related literature is given in Appendix X1.

1.2 For definitions of other textile terms, refer to Terminology D123.