form English · revision 3645

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /fɔːm/, US /fɔːrm/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|furme]] (later [[m|enm|forme]]), [[bor|fro|forme|t=shape, appearance; manner]] and directly [[bor|la|fōrma|t=form, mould, shape; beauty]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) a word of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Klein and Barnhart think it may come from Greek [[m|grc|μορφή|tr=morphḗ|t=form, shape]] by way of Etruscan,^(Klein 1966)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and Klein compares the same change in Latin [[m|la|formīca|t=ant]] beside Greek [[m|grc|μύρμηξ|tr=múrmēx]], while rejecting a link with [[m|la|ferīre|t=to strike]].^(Klein 1966) The verb is from Old French [[m|fro|fourmer]] and Latin [[m|la|fōrmāre]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[formal]], [[formula]], [[conform]], [[deform]], [[inform]], [[perform]], [[reform]] and [[uniform]].^(Klein 1966)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'',^(Barnhart 1988) and about 1200 according to Etymonline, “semblance, image, likeness”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From about 1300 ''form'' meant the shape of something or someone's body, and also the correct way of doing something, established procedure.^(Etymonline) In law it was the terms of an agreement from about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) and a legal document from the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) A mould is a ''form'' from the mid-14th century,^(Etymonline) and in medieval theology and philosophy the word meant the essence that makes a thing what it is.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) The hare's ''form'', its lair, is from the 13th century, and a long bench without a back from the 14th.^(Hoad 1986) A class at school is a ''form'' from the 1550s,^(Etymonline) or the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) “Mere ceremony” is from the 1610s, and a document with blanks to fill in from 1855.^(Etymonline) The verb, “to give shape to, create”, is from about 1300,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and “to take shape” from 1722.^(Etymonline) ''Formation'' is recorded before 1398, ''formative'' in Caxton (1490) and ''formless'' in Spenser (1591).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – likeness, shape (''Ancrene Riwle'').^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – shape; procedure; verb, to shape.^(Etymonline)

+ * 13th century – a hare's lair.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 14th century – a bench.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * before 1398 – ''formation''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1550s – a class at school.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1591 – ''formless'' (Spenser).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – mere ceremony.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1722 – verb, to take shape.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – a document to fill in.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The shape and structure of something.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The body or outward appearance of a person; the [[figure]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A kind or variety: ''a form of government''.^(AHD)

+ # Procedure set by rule or custom; [[etiquette]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # A document with blanks to be filled in.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A class at school.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(British)'' A long bench without a back.^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+ # The lair of a [[hare]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' The essence of a thing, as distinct from its [[matter]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give shape to; to make or create.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To develop in the mind: ''form an opinion''.^(AHD)

+ # To make up; to [[constitute]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To come into being; to take shape.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[formability]]

+ * [[formable]]

+ * [[formably]]

+ * [[deform]]

+ * [[misform]]

+ * [[habit-forming]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[inform]]

+ * [[formal]]

+ * [[formula]]

+ * [[formulaic]]

+ * [[formulate]]

+ * [[formulation]]

+ * [[format]]

+ * [[formation]]

+ * [[conform]]

+ * [[perform]]

+ * [[reform]]

+ * [[uniform]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary contrasts ''form'', the outline and structure of a thing as opposed to its substance, with ''figure'', ''shape'', ''configuration'', ''contour'' and ''profile''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}