Matèries

Matèries is a Corsican term used in more than one sense. It functions as a plural form referring to both educational subjects and to physical materials or substances. The word draws on the Latin materia, through the French matière, and is cognate with related terms in other Romance languages.

In the educational context, matèries denotes the fields of study that form a curriculum, similar to “subjects” in English. Typical matèries include mathematics, science, languages, history, and the arts. The exact list and grouping vary by school and region, but the concept remains the same: organized areas of study that structure learning and assessment.

In the materials sense, matèries refers to substances used to make or compose things, including raw materials and finished substances. This usage covers metals, polymers, ceramics, and other constituents. Classifications often consider composition (organic vs inorganic), state of matter (solid, liquid, gas), and properties such as density, hardness, or conductivity.

Context determines the intended meaning, and readers can usually infer whether matèries refers to curriculum areas or to materials from surrounding words. Related terms include materie prime (raw materials) and cognates in other languages, such as Italian materie and French matières. The dual usage reflects how the concept of matter intersects both education and material composition in Corsican discourse.