figure English · revision 3359

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1200 (Ancrene Riwle)|origins=la fingere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈfɪɡ.ə/, US /ˈfɪɡ.jɚ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|figure]], [[bor|fro|figure|t=shape, body; figure of speech]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[la|figūra|t=shape, form, figure]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) from fig-, the stem of [[m|la|fingere|t=to shape, form; to devise, feign]],^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) from [[ine-pro|*dʰeyǵʰ-|alt=*dheigh-|t=to form, build]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) the root also of [[dough]] and [[fiction]].^(MWU 2024)^(Klein 1966) The verb is Middle English figuren, from Old French figurer, from [[m|la|figūrāre|t=to form, shape]].^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A numeral: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'',^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Word Origins notes that the word came into English with nearly its whole present range of meanings.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The visible appearance of a person is from the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline) and the form or shape of a thing, and a statue or likeness, from before 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Philosophical and scientific senses come from Latin figūra used to translate Greek [[m|grc|σχῆμα|tr=skhêma]].^(Etymonline) A geometric figure is from 1340^(OED 1989) or the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline) a rhetorical figure from about 1340^(Barnhart 1988) or the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and hence ''figure of speech'' from the 1550s.^(Etymonline) A diagram in a text is from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to represent in a picture” from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) or 1389,^(Barnhart 1988) and “to picture in the mind” from about 1600.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “To work out a sum” is American English from 1833, hence colloquial “to expect, conclude” from 1837.^(Etymonline) ''Figure-skating'' is from 1835, from the circular patterns skaters once traced on the ice.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – a numeral.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-13th century – a person's appearance.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1300 – a shape; a statue.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1340 – a figure of speech.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late 14th century – verb, to represent.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – to imagine.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1833 – to calculate.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1835 – ''figure-skating''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1837 – to expect, conclude.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A written symbol for a number; a [[numeral]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # An amount expressed in numbers.^(AHD)

+ # The shape of the human body, especially a woman's.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A person, especially an important or well-known one: ''a public figure''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A picture, statue or other representation.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ # A diagram or illustration in a text.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A geometric form made of points, lines or planes.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A [[figure of speech]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To calculate with numbers.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' To conclude or believe.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To be important or prominent: ''figure in the story''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To depict or represent.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[figurer]]

+ * [[figurable]]

+ * [[figureless]]

+ * [[outfigure]]

+ * [[prefigure]]

+ * [[refigure]]

+ * [[figure out]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[figurine]]

+ * [[figurative]]

+ * [[configure]]

+ * [[disfigure]]

+ * [[transfigure]]

+ * [[fiction]]

+ * [[feign]]

+ * [[effigy]]

+ * [[dough]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}