format

Forms

format m (plural formats)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Italian formato (“size of a sheet of paper, measure, dimension”), the past participle of formare (“to form”), which is from Latin fōrmō (“to form”).^[2][3][4][5] The Italian word is recorded for the size of paper from the 18th century and for a measure or dimension in general from the first half of the 14th century.^[2][3] The TLFi also mentions the alternative view, which Bloch and Wartburg had put forward, that it was formed in French from forme with the suffix -at, but prefers the Italian origin.^[2][6]

Littré instead traced it to Latin fōrmātus (“formed”), as in liber fōrmātus (“a book of a given shape”),^[7] and Wiktionary gives it as coming through German Format.^[1] The computing sense was taken from English format, a word of the same origin.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Savary des Bruslons's dictionary of commerce records it in 1723 as a printing term, the size of a sheet of paper and of a printed book.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the characteristic size of a sheet of paper, often known by its watermark, and of a printed work; from this came the dimensions of a book in height and width, as in grand format and format de poche.^[3][6][5] In the 20th century it was extended to the size of a picture, a photograph, a film or a record, and to standard sizes of material in general.^[3][6][5]

From 1872 it was also used of a person's size or stature, as in un homme de grand format.^[3][6] In computing (1955) it took over the sense of the English word, a model that fixes the size and layout of data, and the derivatives formater and formatage (about 1970) were modelled on English.^[3]

English borrowed the French word for the shape and size of a book in 1840, ultimately from the Latin phrase for a book made in a given shape; it was applied to computers by 1955.^[8]

Timeline

• 1723 – Savary des Bruslons records it as a printing term.^[2][6]
• 1840 – English takes format from French for the shape and size of a book.^[8]
• 1872 – Larousse records it for a person's size or stature.^[6][3]
• 1955 – It is used in computing after the English word.^[3]
• c. 1970 – The verb formater and the noun formatage appear.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (printing) The size of a printed work as fixed by the number of leaves a printed sheet is folded into, as in format in-octavo.^[5][6][7]
2. The height and width of a book: un roman de petit format, format de poche.^[5][6]
3. The standard size of a sheet of paper, often named after its watermark (raisin, jésus, colombier).^[5][6][2]
4. The dimensions of a flat object such as a print, a painting, a photograph or a film: une photo de format 10×15.^[5][6]
5. (familiar) The size or stature of a person: un homme de grand format.^[3][6]
6. (computing) A format, the set of rules for the size and layout of data.^[3]

Related words

• forme
• former
• formater
• formatage
• Latin fōrma

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final ⟨t⟩ is not sounded in liaison, while a plural ⟨s⟩ is: les formats in-quarto.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com