means The belief or lifestyle that prioritizes physical possessions and comfort over spiritual or intellectual values — or, in philosophy, the view that everything that exists is ultimately matter.

from From Latin 'materia,' meaning 'matter' or 'stuff' (itself related to 'mater,' mother — the substance from which things are made). The '-ism' suffix, from Greek '-ismos,' turns it into a doctrine or system. 'Materialism' entered English in the 18th century, first as a philosophical term for the doctrine that matter is the only reality; the everyday sense — a craving for things over ideals — grew alongside it as factories, shops, and goods multiplied.