Reference
Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the words makers, installers, fabricators and care labels use for floors, counters, tile, cabinets and fabric.
Each term links the chapter that explains it. Product and certification names are the makers' and programs' own words as of 2026-10-31.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Abradant | the material that does the rubbing in an abrasion test. See Upholstery fabric. |
| AC class | an abrasion class for laminate from the European standard EN 13329, now also listed in ANSI/NALFA LF 01-2026. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Acclimation (conditioning) | bringing flooring's moisture content into line with the conditions it will live in, measured with a meter, not counted in days (NWFA). See Wood floors. |
| Ambering | a yellow cast on new linoleum from its linseed oil that fades with light and is not a defect (Forbo). See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Aniline | leather dyed with no color coating on top; FIRA says it is more susceptible to light and liquid. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Area rug | a loose rug laid on top of a finished floor or carpet. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Asbestos | a mineral fiber once used in building products, including vinyl floor tiles, sheet vinyl backings and some adhesives, hazardous when disturbed. See Stains, damage and older homes. |
| Backing | the base a carpet's yarn is tufted into. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Berber | the name CRI gives many level loop carpets. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Bonded leather | leather fibers made into a sheet with non-leather materials; under the FTC model it should not be called leather without its fiber content. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Bycast | split leather with a polyurethane film rolled on. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Calcareous stone | stone made mainly of calcium carbonate (calcite), sensitive to acids, such as marble (NSI). See Tile and grout. |
| Candidate | one specific product you could install (material, maker and product line), not a category. See How to compare finishes. |
| Care sheet | the maker's own cleaning and maintenance instructions for a product. See Cleaning by surface. |
| Case | the box of a cabinet that carries the load, as distinct from its doors and drawer fronts. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Ceramic tile | the broad family of fired clay tile; porcelain is one kind of it. See Tile and grout. |
| Clean, repair, refinish, replace | the four answers to damage, from cleaning a surface mark, through replacing one piece, to refinishing the whole surface or replacing it. See Stains, damage and older homes. |
| Cleaning code | a maker's letter code (W, S, W/S, X and others) on an upholstery tag saying what kind of cleaner the fabric tolerates. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Coated fabric | a textile backing with a plastic film on top, the usual construction of faux leather. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Composite engineered flooring | engineered flooring with real wood only on the wear surface and a composite core (NWFA). See Wood floors. |
| Composite wood | panels made of wood fibers or particles bonded with resin (MDF, particleboard, hardwood plywood). See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Contact time | how long a surface must stay visibly wet for a sanitizer or disinfectant to work as its label claims. See Cleaning by surface. |
| Contrast welt | piping in a second color along a seam. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Conversion varnish | one of the surface finishes NWFA lists, applied on site by a contractor. See Wood floors. |
| Corrected grain | top grain sanded or buffed to remove flaws, then printed with a grain pattern. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Cost per year | everything you expect to spend on a surface over a set study period (installed cost, replacements, yearly care, periodic work), divided by the years; undiscounted (our simplification of NIST's method). See How to compare finishes. |
| Crocking | dye rubbing off a fabric onto another surface, graded wet and dry in fabric labs. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Crystalline silica | the mineral quartz and its relatives, which make respirable dust when stone is cut or ground. See Countertops. |
| Cupping | boards whose edges rise above their centers because they have taken on moisture. See Wood floors. |
| Cushion (pad, underlay) | the layer between wall-to-wall carpet and the subfloor. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Cut pile | carpet whose loops are cut, so each tuft ends in open yarn tips. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Deck | the platform under the seat cushions of a sofa or chair. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Delamination | a coating separating from its backing. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Density | how closely a carpet's tufts are packed; in a dense carpet you cannot easily see or feel the backing when you part the pile (CRI). See Carpet and rugs. |
| Discounting | reducing future costs to their value today at a discount rate. See How to compare finishes. |
| Disinfecting | killing viruses and bacteria on a surface (EPA). See Cleaning by surface. |
| Double rub | one back-and-forth pass of cotton duck across a taut fabric in the Wyzenbeek test (ASTM D4157). (Martindale cycles, ASTM D4966, described in the same paragraph.). See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Dye lot | a batch of carpet dyed together; two lots of the same color can differ slightly. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Dynamic coefficient of friction (DCOF) | a measure of how much a surface resists something already sliding across it; ANSI A326.3's wet figure for level interior floors walked on wet is 0.42. See Tile and grout. |
| Efflorescence | white mineral salts carried up by moisture and left when it dries. See Tile and grout. |
| Electroplated finish | a metal layer such as chrome deposited by electric current. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Engineered quartz | a slab of crushed stone, mostly quartz, bound with resin and pigment; sold as quartz or engineered stone. See Countertops. |
| Engineered wood flooring | flooring of several layers glued together with real wood on top; moves less with humidity than solid (NWFA). See Wood floors. |
| Equilibrium moisture content (EMC) | the moisture content, as a percentage of dry weight, at which wood neither gains nor loses water at a given temperature and humidity. See Wood floors. |
| Etch | a dull spot where acid has dissolved a little of a stone's polished surface; damage to the surface, not a stain, and sealing does not prevent it. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Exclusion | something a warranty does not cover. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Fabricator | the shop that measures, cuts, edges and installs a slab counter. See Countertops. |
| Factory-finished (prefinished) | a floor that arrived already coated. See Wood floors. |
| Fiber | the material a yarn is spun from, such as cotton, wool or polyester. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Film finish | a finish that forms a layer on top of the wood (varnish, lacquer, polyurethane). See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Finish | any surface a room is finished with: a floor, a counter, tile, a cabinet door, a sofa's fabric or leather. See How to compare finishes. |
| Finished split | a lower layer of the hide coated with a polymer to look like grain leather. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| FloorScore | RFCI's certification that a hard-surface floor or adhesive met California's emission test for listed VOCs, with yearly retesting and plant audits. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Full grain | top-grain leather that keeps its natural surface, with no printed grain. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Full sand and refinish | sanding through the finish into bare wood and applying new stain (if any) and finish. See Wood floors. |
| Gentle default | dry soil off, pH-neutral cleaner, damp not wet, dry after, hidden spot first. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Glaze | a glassy coating fired onto the face of a tile. See Tile and grout. |
| Grain | the outer surface of the hide; grain terms say which layer leather comes from and whether its natural surface was kept. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Grout | the filler in the joints between tiles; it does not hold the tile in place (TCNA). See Tile and grout. |
| Heat shield | a clear acrylic panel fitted beside or above an oven or range to protect nearby doors. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Hidden-spot test | trying a cleaner on a small out-of-sight area of the same surface and checking color, gloss and texture once it dries before using it where it shows. See Cleaning by surface. |
| Hydrolysis | the breakdown of polyurethane from long exposure to humidity and heat, seen as cracking, flaking or peeling. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Hygrometer | a small gauge that reads relative humidity. See Wood floors. |
| Impregnator | NSI's term for a stone sealer that works inside the stone as a repellent. See Countertops. |
| Janka hardness | the load in pounds-force to push a 0.444 in. steel ball halfway into the side of solid wood; a measure of dent resistance, not of scratches, and not for engineered wood. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Jungle test | ISO 1419 Method C, a hydrolysis test at 70 °C and at least 95 percent humidity, reported in weeks. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| KCMA seal | the mark of a cabinet line that passed the ANSI/KCMA A161.1 certification tests. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Laminate | a printed decorative layer under a clear wear layer on a wood-fiber core with a backing layer (NALFA); not vinyl and not real wood on top. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Level loop | carpet of uncut loops all the same height. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Life figure | the number of years you expect a surface to last before you replace it; entered by the reader with its source. See How to compare finishes. |
| Life-cycle cost | NIST's total cost of owning, operating, maintaining and disposing of something over a study period, with future costs discounted. See How to compare finishes. |
| Linoleum | a specific resilient product made with linseed oil, not a general word for vinyl. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Lippage | a difference in height between the edges of neighboring tiles (ANSI A108.02 via TCNA). See Tile and grout. |
| Living finish | uncoated metal, such as unlacquered brass, that darkens where untouched and brightens where handled. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Lot | a run of material made together (batch, dye lot, shade lot); color can differ between lots. See How to compare finishes. |
| LVT / LVP (luxury vinyl tile / plank) | flexible vinyl tiles or planks with a printed film and an embossed surface (RFCI). See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Martindale test | ASTM D4966; fabric rubbed against worsted wool along an enlarging elliptical (Lissajous) path, reported in cycles. See Upholstery fabric. |
| MDF (medium-density fiberboard) | a composite panel of fine wood fibers with a smooth face, common under paint and films. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Mil | a thousandth of an inch (20 mil = 0.020 in. = 0.5 mm). See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Movement joint (control or expansion joint) | a joint at perimeters, inside corners and changes of plane, filled with flexible sealant rather than grout. See Tile and grout. |
| NAF / ULEF | optional formaldehyde claims (no added formaldehyde-based resins; ultra low-emitting) under 40 CFR 770. |
| Normal wear and tear (Idaho's definition, as an example) | deterioration from intended use without negligence, carelessness, accident, misuse or abuse. See Stains, damage and older homes. |
| Nubuck | leather whose grain side is lightly abraded; absorbent. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Olefin | another name for polypropylene carpet fiber. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Overage | extra material bought beyond the measured area to cover cuts, waste and pieces set aside. See How to compare finishes. |
| Particleboard | a composite panel of larger wood particles, common in cases and under laminates. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| PEI class | a wear class for glazed tile based on the visible surface abrasion test now published as ASTM C1027. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Penetrating finish | a finish that soaks into the wood, such as natural oils and hard wax oils. See Wood floors. |
| Penetrating sealer | a sealer that soaks into grout or stone; costlier, longer-lasting, vapor-permeable (TCNA). See Tile and grout. |
| Performance fabric | a furniture-trade term, not a standard, for fabric whose stain or wear resistance comes from its fiber or from a treatment or coating. See Upholstery fabric. |
| PFAS | per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a large family of chemicals long used in stain and water repellents. See Upholstery fabric. |
| pH-neutral | about pH 7; 6 or less is acid, 8 or more alkaline (Penn State IPM handout). |
| Pigmented leather | leather coated with an opaque pigmented polymer, often buffed and embossed; FIRA calls it the most durable upholstery leather. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Pile | the yarn that stands up from a carpet's backing, the part you walk on. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Pilling | small balls of fiber that form where cloth rubs; ACT treats it as an appearance problem, not a durability one. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Plank | wood flooring boards 3 in. wide or wider (NWFA). See Wood floors. |
| Plastic laminate (high-pressure laminate) | resin-soaked paper layers pressed into a thin sheet and glued to a particleboard or MDF core. See Countertops. |
| Polyurethane (PU) | a plastic film often sold as vegan or faux leather; it can break down by hydrolysis. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Porcelain tile | ceramic tile with water absorption of 0.5 percent or less by ASTM C373 (TCNA). See Tile and grout. |
| Postformed edge | a laminate edge rolled over a rounded front, with no seam at the edge. See Countertops. |
| Poultice | an absorbent powder mixed with a cleaner to a paste and left on a stain to draw it out of stone. See Countertops. |
| Powder coat | a baked-on powder paint finish. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Power-stretched | pulled tight across the room with a tool that braces against the far wall, as CRI 105 requires. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Pro-rated | a warranty that pays less as the years pass. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| PTCA mark | the Porcelain Tile Certification Agency's mark on packaging, showing a tile was certified to the 0.5 percent limit. See Tile and grout. |
| Pull-up | aniline leather with oil or wax in it, which lightens with use and scuffs. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| PVC (vinyl) | polyvinyl chloride, the other common faux leather film; ACT says hydrolysis does not affect it. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| PVD (physical vapor deposition) | a thin, hard metallic coating applied in a vacuum, used on faucet finishes. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Radon | a radioactive gas from the decay of uranium, mainly entering homes from soil. See Countertops. |
| Recoat (maintenance coat, screen and recoat) | cleaning and lightly scuffing the existing finish and adding a fresh coat, removing almost no wood. See Wood floors. |
| Recovering (reupholstering) | an upholsterer removing the old cover and making and fitting a new one. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Rectified tile | tile cut to precise size, which allows narrower joints (TCNA). (Used in passing, defined in parentheses.). See Tile and grout. |
| Relative humidity (RH) | how much water vapor the air holds compared with the most it could hold at that temperature, as a percentage. See Wood floors. |
| Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule | the EPA rule requiring paid firms that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes and child care facilities to be certified and use certified renovators. See Stains, damage and older homes. |
| Residual value | the value credited for what a surface still has left at the end of the study period. See How to compare finishes. |
| Resilient flooring | RFCI's family name for vinyl in its forms, linoleum, cork and rubber. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Rigid core | vinyl plank or tile built on a stiff polymer core with a decorative top and sometimes an attached pad; sold as SPC or WPC, sellers' names RFCI's definitions do not use. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Rub count | the result of a lab abrasion test, how much rubbing a fabric took before it showed wear. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Safety data sheet (SDS) | a maker's document for a product that states, among other things, its silica content. See Countertops. |
| Sanitizing | killing bacteria on a surface; not meant to kill viruses (EPA). See Cleaning by surface. |
| Saxony, frieze, plush | names for styles of cut pile; they describe a look, and CRI does not rank them for durability. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Seal of Approval | CRI's lab program for carpet cleaning products and machines; it is about the cleaning, not the carpet. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Sealer (stone or grout) | a liquid that soaks in and makes the surface repel water and oil; NSI calls most of them impregnators. See Tile and grout. |
| Seam | the adhesive-filled joint where two counter pieces meet. See Countertops. |
| Semi-aniline | leather dyed through with a thin surface coating; FIRA says it is still easily damaged by spills and soiling. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Shading (pile reversal) | patches of plush that look lighter or darker depending on which way the pile lies; CRI calls it a characteristic, not a defect. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Sheet vinyl | vinyl flooring in rolls, typically 6 ft or 12 ft wide. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Siliceous stone | stone made mainly of quartz, feldspar and mica, generally resistant to kitchen acids (NSI). See Tile and grout. |
| Silicosis | an incurable, progressively disabling lung disease caused by breathing crystalline silica dust. See Countertops. |
| Site-finished | a floor sanded and coated in the house. See Wood floors. |
| Slipcover | a fitted fabric cover made to come off the furniture. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Small rug (16 CFR 1631) | a rug with no side longer than 6 ft and an area no greater than 24 sq ft. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Smolder test | a test in which a lit cigarette is placed on mock-ups of the cover, barrier and filling to see whether they keep smoldering or ignite. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Solid surface | a cast sheet of resin and mineral filler with color through its thickness. See Countertops. |
| Solid wood flooring | flooring made of one piece of wood from top to bottom (NWFA). See Wood floors. |
| Solution-dyed | colored by adding the color to the fiber material before it is formed into fiber, rather than dyeing yarn or cloth afterward. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Split | a lower layer of the hide, under the grain. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Sprouting | a single tuft that rises above the rest; CRI says clip it, do not pull it. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Stain repellent | a finish that slows how fast a spill soaks in so liquid beads up; it does not change which cleaners a fabric tolerates. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Strip | wood flooring boards under 3 in. wide (NWFA). See Wood floors. |
| Study period | the one number of years over which every candidate is compared. See How to compare finishes. |
| Surface (film-forming) finish | a coating that sits on top of the wood, such as polyurethane, conversion varnish or aluminum oxide. See Wood floors. |
| Technical Bulletin 117-2013 (TB 117-2013) | California's smolder-resistance test for upholstered furniture materials, adopted as the federal standard in 16 CFR 1640. See Upholstery fabric. |
| The room's questions | a short list of what a room will do to a surface (water, scratches and dents, stains, heat, sun, falls, quiet and warmth, care time, repair), in order of importance; the manual's comparison frame (our convention). See How to compare finishes. |
| Thermally fused laminate (TFL, formerly melamine) | resin-soaked decor paper fused by heat and pressure directly onto particleboard or MDF. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Thermofoil (3DL, rigid thermoformable foil) | a PVC or PETG plastic film heat-formed over MDF or particleboard; it softens when heated. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Thickness swell | how much a laminate sample swells after 24 hours submerged; a test of the core. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Through-body porcelain | unglazed porcelain whose color runs all the way through. See Tile and grout. |
| Throw rug | a small loose rug, such as a bath mat, runner or bedside mat. See Carpet and rugs. |
| Top grain | the uppermost, densest layer of the hide; it names the layer, not a finish. See Leather, faux leather and slipcovers. |
| Topcoat | the clear protective layer over a stained or painted cabinet finish. See Cabinets and hardware. |
| Topical sealer | a sealer that forms a surface film; cheaper, can look plastic, wears off under traffic (TCNA). See Tile and grout. |
| Transferable | a warranty that passes to the next owner of the home; a non-transferable one ends with the original buyer. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| TSCA Title VI | the federal rule setting formaldehyde emission limits and labels for hardwood plywood, MDF, particleboard and finished goods made with them. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Twist | how tightly each tuft's yarn is wound in cut pile; tighter is CRI's sign of durability. See Carpet and rugs. |
| VOC | volatile organic compound; one of a large group of chemicals that evaporate at room temperature. See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Water absorption | how much water a tile takes up, as a percent of its weight, measured by ASTM C373; the number that separates porcelain from non-porcelain. See Tile and grout. |
| Wear cycles | the number of abrasion-machine cycles before the first wear shows on a laminate sample. See Vinyl, laminate, linoleum and cork. |
| Wear layer | the clear top layer of a vinyl plank or tile over the printed film, measured in mils (thousandths of an inch). See Samples, ratings, labels and warranties. |
| Weave | how yarns are put together in a fabric: tight and flat, loose, looped or piled. See Upholstery fabric. |
| Wet cutting | cutting or grinding with water at the point where the blade meets the stone, to keep dust down. See Countertops. |
| Wyzenbeek test | ASTM D4157; fabric held taut and rubbed back and forth with cotton duck (or wire screen), reported in double rubs. See Upholstery fabric. |