form

form
\ \ [13] Form comes via Old French forme from Latin formashape, contour’, a word whose origins have never been satisfactorily explained. Its semantic similarity to Greek morphéform, shape’ (source of English morphology [19]) is striking, and has led some etymologists to suggest that the Latin word may be an alteration of the Greek one, presumably by metathesis (the reversal of sounds, in this case /m/ and /f/). Another possibility, however, is that it comes from ferīrestrike’, from the notion of an impression, image, or shape being created by beating. Of the word’s wide diversity of modern senses, ‘school class’, a 16th-century introduction, was inspired by the late Latin usage forma prima, forma secunda, etc for different orders of clergy, while ‘bench’ may go back to the Old French expression s’asseoir en formesit in a row’. Amongst forma’s derivatives that have found their way into English are formal [14], format [19], formula [17] (from a Latin diminutive form), and uniform.
\ \ Cf.FORMAL, FORMAT, FORMULA, INFORM, UNIFORM

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Form — (de) …   Kölsch Dialekt Lexikon

  • form — form·abil·i·ty; form·able; form·ably; form·al·de·hyde; form·amide; form·am·i·dine; form·a·zan; form·ful; form·ism; form·ist; form·less; Form·var; for·nic·i·form; fos·si·form; fo·ve·i·form; fruc·ti·form; fun·gi·form; fun·nel·form; fur·ci·form;… …   English syllables

  • Form — • The original meaning of the term form, both in Greek and Latin, was and is that in common use • eidos, being translated, that which is seen, shape, etc., with secondary meanings derived from this, as form, sort, particular, kind, nature… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • form — n 1 Form, figure, shape, conformation, configuration are comparable when they denote the disposition or arrangement of content that gives a particular aspect or appearance to a thing as distinguished from the substance of which that thing is made …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Form — may mean: *Form, the shape, appearance, or configuration, of an object *Form (furniture), a long seat or bench without a back *Form (education), a class, set or group of students *Form, a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass used by a… …   Wikipedia

  • Form — (Lehnwort von lat. forma) bezeichnet: Gestalt, die Art und Weise, wie etwas ist oder sich verändert im Sport die körperliche Verfassung eines Menschen, siehe Fitness Form (Kampfkunst), ein feststehender Bewegungsablauf in den Naturwissenschaften… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Form — (f[=o]rm; in senses 8 & 9, often f[=o]rm in England), n. [OE. & F. forme, fr. L. forma; cf. Skr. dhariman. Cf. {Firm}.] 1. The shape and structure of anything, as distinguished from the material of which it is composed; particular disposition or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • form — n 1: the structure of something (as a document) as distinguished from its matter a defect in form, not substance 2: established procedure according to rule or practice see also form of action 3: a printed or typed document with blank spaces for… …   Law dictionary

  • form — [fôrm] n. [ME forme < OFr < L forma, a shape, figure, image < ? (via Etr) Gr morphē] 1. the shape, outline, or configuration of anything; structure as apart from color, material, etc. 2. a) the body or figure of a person or animal b) a… …   English World dictionary

  • Form 8-K — is a report required to be filed by public companies with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. After a significant event like bankruptcy or departure of a CEO, a public… …   Wikipedia

  • form — [n1] shape; arrangement anatomy, appearance, articulation, cast, configuration, conformation, construction, contour, cut, design, die, embodiment, fashion, figure, formation, framework, mode, model, mold, outline, pattern, plan, profile, scheme,… …   New thesaurus

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