mid-14c., "band or belt of rich material," from Old French tissu "a ribbon, headband, belt of woven material" (c.1200), noun use of tissu "woven, interlaced," past participle of tistre "to weave," from Latin texere "weave" (see texture). The biological sense is first recorded 1831, from French, introduced c.1800 by French anatomist Marie-François-Xavier Bichal (1771-1802). Tissue-paper is from 1777, supposedly so called because it was made to be placed between tissues to protect them. Meaning "piece of absorbent paper used as a handkerchief" is from 1929.
tissue tis·sue (tĭsh'ōō)
n.
An aggregation of morphologically similar cells and associated intercellular matter acting together to perform specific functions in the body. There are four basic types of tissue: muscle, nerve, epithelial, and connective.
in physiology, a level of organization in multicellular organisms; it consists of a group of structurally and functionally similar cells and their intercellular material.