formn.
/fɔːm/, U.S. /fɔrm/ I. Shape, arrangement of parts.† 2. An image, representation, or likeness (of a body). Also figurative. Obsolete.† 7. A model, type, pattern, or example. Obsolete.† 10. Manner, method, way, fashion (of doing anything). in like form: in like manner. Obsolete.† 13. A formal agreement, settlement, or arrangement between parties; also, a formal commission or authority. Obsolete.
1. † e. Beauty, comeliness. [So Latin forma.] Obsolete.† f. Style of dress, costume. Obsolete. rare.
a. The visible aspect of a thing; now usually in narrower sense, shape, configuration, as distinguished from colour; occasionally, the shape or figure of the body as distinguished from the face.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > [noun]
featurec1325
making1340
staturec1380
statea1387
bonea1400
figurec1400
makec1425
corpulence1477
corsage1481
makdom1488
mouldc1550
corporature1555
frame1566
dimension1600
limit1608
set1611
timber1612
compact1646
taille1663
fabric1695
moulding1815
physique1826
tournure1827
build1832
form1849
body type1866
body build1907
somatotype1940
size1985
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 3326 Þat ychanged hii were Hii þre in þe oþeres fourme.
a1300 Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 311 After the eiȝte and twenti dayes, forme hit [the seed] gynneth to nyme.
c1325 Metr. Hom. 92 An angel bi wai he mette, In mannes fourm.
c1400 Rom. Rose 2810 Hir shappe, hir fourme, hir goodly chere.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 127 Þis schal be þe foorme of a trepane.
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 99 The whyte asp differeth..from the blak..in the form of the lefe.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. viii. 7 b A great building made in forme of a Citadelle.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 140 The slipp'ry God will..various Forms assume, to cheat thy sight. View more context for this quotation
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 82. ⁋2 Stones of remarkable forms.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 257 Her face was expressive: her form wanted no feminine charm.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 571 The world was made in the form of a globe.
b. plural. The shape of the different parts of a body. [So French les formes du corps.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > [noun] > of parts
forms1836
1836 E. W. Lane Acct. Manners & Customs Mod. Egyptians I. i. 40 In the Egyptian females the forms of womanhood begin to develop themselves about the ninth or tenth year.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xviii. 211 The buildings of the city..presenting forms dear to the antiquary.
c. Crystallography. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > crystallography (general) > crystal (general) > structures and forms > [noun]
form1878
diploid1896
1878 H. P. Gurney Crystallogr. 38 This group of faces, which are required to co-exist with a given face by the law of symmetry of the system is called a crystallographic form.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 60 A set of faces symmetrically related, such as the six faces of the prism of rock-crystal, is called technically a form.
d. Abstractly considered as one of the elements of the plastic arts.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > plastic art > [noun] > element of
form1846
1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters II. 193 Form we find abstractedly considered by the sculptor.
1879 O. N. Rood Mod. Chromatics xviii. 314 In painting..colour is subordinate to form.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beauty > [noun]
wlitec825
faireOE
fairnessOE
fairlecc1225
fairheadc1300
fairshipc1300
forma1382
clearnessa1400
beautyc1405
delicacya1450
pulchritudea1460
speciositya1470
lovelinessa1500
beautifulnessc1500
formosityc1500
fairhood?1503
bewtynes?c1510
decorea1513
venusty1559
decorum1604
bellitude1623
beauteousnessa1631
loveliheada1637
decor1656
luculency1656
Venus1657
coquetry1794
beautyhood1832
glamour1840
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. viii. 2 And loouere I am mad of the foorme of it [wisdom].
1568 T. Howell Arbor of Amitie f. 1 Forme is most frayle, a fading flattring showe.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. liii. 2 Hee hath no forme nor comelinesse. View more context for this quotation
1632 T. Randolph Jealous Lovers ii. vii. 27 You punish't The Queen of beauty with a mole; but certainly Her perjury hath added to her form.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun]
wearing?c1225
guisec1275
attire1382
habita1420
shapea1425
trick1542
fashion1544
trim1579
suit shape1598
garb1608
form1664
toilet1752
macaroni dressa1777
turn-out1812
style1814
set-out1834
get-up1842
rig1843
feather1854
model1859
make-up1883
1664 S. Pepys Diary 15 July (1971) V. 209 There comes out of the Chayre roome Mrs. Steward in a most lovely form..A lovely creature she in this dress seemed to be.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > [noun] > a representation
form?c1225
figurea1340
likeness1340
print1340
nebshaftc1350
resemblancea1393
visagea1400
similitude?a1425
representationc1450
simulacre1483
representa1500
semblance1513
idea1531
image1531
similitudeness1547
type1559
living image1565
portrait1567
counter-figure1573
shadow1580
countershape1587
umbrage1604
medal1608
reflex1608
remonstrance1640
transcript1646
configurationa1676
phantom1690
facsimile1801
personation1851
featuring1864
zoomorph1883
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 112 Ure deorewurðe gast godes achne furme.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 25/43 Ane Croyz of seluer with þe fourme of god huy leten a-rere.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 87 Oure riȝte uader..þet..ssop þe zaule to his anlycnisse an to his fourme.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) viii. 32 In þe whilk roche es þe prynte and þe fourme of his body.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets ix. sig. B2v That thou no forme of thee hast left behind.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie i. vii. 28 An Escocheon is the forme or representation of a Shield.
3. A body considered in respect to its outward shape and appearance; esp. that of a living being, a person.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > [noun]
hue971
shapec1050
form1297
casta1300
entailc1320
fashionc1320
featurec1325
tailc1325
suitc1330
figuringc1385
figure1393
makinga1398
fasurec1400
facea1402
makec1425
proportionc1425
figuration?a1475
protracture1551
physiognomy1567
set1567
portraiturea1578
imagerya1592
model1597
plasmature1610
figurature1642
scheme1655
morphosis1675
turn1675
plasma1712
mould1725
format1936
the world > life > the body > [noun] > with regard to appearance
form1297
personc1390
personage1461
moul1565
mould1580
shape1602
flesha1616
habit1652
figure1717
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 4218 King Arthure..Toward þis grisliche fourme mid god herte him drou.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Lucretia. 1768 Right so, thogh that her forme wer absent, The plesaunce of hir forme was present.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 27 Þat þei moun bynde manye þingis in oon foorme, as þe panicle of þe heed byndiþ sevene boones.
1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat v. ii. sig. L Are your aeriall formes depriv'd of language.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 373 Here Toils, and Death, and Death's half-brother, Sleep, Forms terrible to view, their Centry keep.
1798 S. T. Coleridge Lewti in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 63* To forget the form I lov'd.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 77 To his surprise, this very form stood before him.
4. Philosophy.
a. In the Scholastic philosophy: The essential determinant principle of a thing; that which makes anything (matter) a determinate species or kind of being; the essential creative quality.This use of form (Aristotle's μορϕή or εἶδος) and matter (ὕλη) is a metaphorical extension of their popular use. In ordinary speech, a portion of matter, stuff, or material, becomes a ‘thing’ by virtue of having a particular ‘form’ or shape; by altering the form, the matter remaining unchanged, we make a new ‘thing’. This language, primarily applied only to objects of sense, was in philosophical use extended to objects of thought: every ‘thing’ or entity was viewed as consisting of two elements, its form by virtue of which it was different from, and its matter which it had in common with, others.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun]
pitheOE
i-cundeeOE
roota1325
substancec1330
juicec1380
marrowa1382
formc1385
acta1398
quidditya1398
substantial forma1398
inward1398
savourc1400
inwardc1450
allaya1456
essencya1475
being1521
bottom1531
spirit?1534
summary1548
ecceity1549
core1556
flower1568
formality1570
sum and substance1572
alloy1594
soul1598
inwardness1605
quid1606
fibre1607
selfness1611
whatness1611
essentialityc1616
propera1626
the whole shot1628
substantiala1631
esse1642
entity1643
virtuality1646
ingeny1647
quoddity1647
intimacy1648
ens1649
inbeing1661
essence1667
interiority1701
intrinsic1716
stamen1758
character1761
quidditas1782
hyparxis1792
rasa1800
bone1829
what1861
isness1865
inscape1868
as-suchness1909
Wesen1959
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > scholasticism > [noun] > matter, form, or essence
formc1385
matterc1395
matter subjecta1398
quidditya1398
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Philomene. 2228 Thou yiver of the formes that hast wrought The faire world.
1413 Pilgr. Sowle (1483) iv. xxv. 71 The body was only mater, to whiche thou [the soul] were the fourme, of whome now is he naked another fourme accidentale..maye he wel haue, but forme substancial is hit nought that he hath.
1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. *j To behold in the Glas of Creation, the Forme of Formes.
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie i. iii. 54 Forme in other creatures is a thing proportionable vnto the soule in liuing creatures..According to the diuersitie of inward formes, things of the world are distinguished into their kindes.
1605 P. Woodhouse Flea (1877) 10 Reason's the forme of man, he who wants this, May well be like a man, but no man is.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) i. §33 I beleeve..that they [spirits] know things by their formes, and define by specificall difference what we describe by accidents and properties. View more context for this quotation
1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon 19 The Form by which the thing is what it is.
1665 J. Glanvill Scepsis Scientifica xxii. 137 The Soul cannot be separated from the Body, because 'tis it's Form.
1676 W. Bates Considerations Existence of God iv. 66 Supposing the self subsistence of Matter..could the World, full of innumerable Forms, spring by an Impetus from a dead, formless Principle?
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. vi. 212 That the several Species of Substances had their distinct internal Substantial Forms.
b. So in Theology: a sacrament is said to consist of matter (as the water in baptism, the bread and wine in the Eucharist) and form, which is furnished by certain essential formulary words.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrament > [noun] > three things making effectual
matterc1350
form1597
intention1690
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lviii. 129 To make complete the outward substance of a sacrament, there is required an outward forme, which forme sacramentall elements receiue from sacramentall words.
a1600 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie (1648) vi. 21 For as much as a Sacrament is compleat, having the matter and forme which it ought.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Form, in Theology, is one of the essential Parts of the Sacraments; being that which gives them their Sacramental Esse.
c. In Bacon's modification of the Scholastic use: The real or objective conditions on which a sensible quality or body depends for its existence, and the knowledge of which enables it to be freely produced.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > empiricism > [noun] > Baconianism > elements of
form1605
organum1620
axiom1626
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Gg3v To enquire the forme of a Lyon, of an Oake, of Gold, Nay: of Water, of Aire, is a vaine pursuite: But to enquire the formes of Sence..of Colours..of Densitie, of Tenuitie, of Heate, of Cold, and al other Natures and qualities..To enquire I say the true fourmes of these, is that part of Metaphysicke, which we now define of. View more context for this quotation
d. In the usage of Kant and Kantians: That factor of knowledge which gives reality and objectivity to the thing known, and which Kant regards as due to mind, or as (in his sense) subjective; the formative principle which holds together the several elements of a thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > idealism > [noun] > Kantianism > elements of
conception1701
schematism1794
categorical imperative1796
intuition1796
matter1796
receptivity1796
schema1796
dialectic1797
multifarious1798
reciprocity1799
form1803
synthesis1817
Anschauung1820
manifold?1822
category1829
modality1836
multiplex1836
predicable1838
multiple1839
multiplicity1839
presentmenta1842
elanguescence1855
1803 Edinb. Rev. 1 258 The subjective elements are by Kant denominated forms.
1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iii. §15. 49 If Space and Time are forms of thought, they can never be thought of.
1874 H. Sidgwick Methods of Ethics i. ix. 93 This notion of ‘ought’..is a necessary form of our moral apprehension.
1889 E. Caird Crit. Philos. Kant I. 279 The forms of unity by which it [the mind] determines sensible objects.
1889 E. Caird Crit. Philos. Kant I. 349 The categories or forms of synthesis which belong to the pure understanding.
5.
a. The particular character, nature, structure, or constitution of a thing; the particular mode in which a thing exists or manifests itself. in the form of, to take the form of.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > [phrase] > mode in which a thing manifests itself
in the form ofc1310
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > character or nature > [noun]
birtha1250
the manner ofc1300
formc1310
propertyc1390
naturea1393
condition1393
qualitya1398
temperc1400
taragec1407
naturality?a1425
profession?a1439
affecta1460
temperament1471
essence?1533
affection1534
spirit?1534
temperature1539
natural spirit1541
character1577
complexion1589
tincture1590
idiom1596
qualification1602
texture1611
connativea1618
thread1632
genius1639
complexure1648
quale1654
indoles1672
suchness1674
staminaa1676
trim1707
tenor1725
colouring1735
tint1760
type1843
aura1859
thusness1883
physis1923
the world > existence and causation > existence > extrinsicality or externality > [noun] > mode or form of existence
formc1310
affection?1543
modification1644
notion1649
mode1668
modus1675
c1310 Poems Harl. MS. 2253 (Böddeker) 193 Iesu..graunte ous..þe vnderfonge in fourme of bred.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 1591 Forþi in form of iugement, A neu vengans on þaim he sent.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 81 Alwey stiryng til it..come into þe foorme of an oynement.
1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse Pref. sig. Aviv I haue reduced it into the forme of a Dialoge.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 8 When they had..brought them into forme of a province.
1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters iii. 117 Iron is not, in the metallic form, produced by nature.
1850 J. McCosh Method Divine Govt. (ed. 2) i. ii. 57 Pantheism is the form in which infidelity prevails on the Continent of Europe in the present day.
1860 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing (rev. ed.) vi. 98 An egg, whipped up with wine, is often the only form in which they can take this kind of nourishment.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 399 The Dialogue necessarily takes the form of a narrative.
b. One of the different modes in which a thing exists or manifests itself; a species, kind, or variety.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > [noun] > a kind, sort, or class > a variety or particular form
form1543
edition1598
variety1617
mode1661
version1835
variation1863
phylum1945
1543 R. Record Ground of Artes ii. sig. Q.iiv This sorte is in two fourmes commenly. The one by lynes, and the other without lynes.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 76 To make your descant carrie some forme of relation to the plaine song.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xviii. 94 The Power in all formes [of Commonwealth], if they be perfect enough to protect them, is the same.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 303 For Forms of Government let Fools contest.
1821 J. Marshall Writings upon Federal Constit. (1839) 256 To this argument, in all its forms, the same answer may be given.
1842 C. H. Smith Introd. Mammalia (Naturalist's Libr.: Mammalia XIII) 291 The group is intermediate between the bisontine form and the bovine.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 157 They had refused to declare that any form of ecclesiastical polity was of divine origin.
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect i. ii. 180 The sensation of wetness seems to be nothing else than a form of cold.
c. Grammar. (a) One of the various modes of pronunciation, spelling, or inflection under which a word may appear. (b) In generalized sense: the external characteristics of words (esp. with reference to their inflections), as distinguished from their signification. Also in extended uses in Linguistics. Cf. linguistic form n. 2
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > [noun] > grammatical form
form1861
1861 F. M. Müller Lect. Sci. Lang. vii. 255 The Chinese sound ta means without any change of form, great, greatness, and to be great.
1889 F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) 48 267/3 In 1530, Palsgrave recorded the form topsy tyrvy.
1921 E. Sapir Lang. iv. 63 The evolution of forms like teeth and geese.
1926 L. Bloomfield in Language 2 155 The vocal features common to same or partly same utterances are forms.
1926 L. Bloomfield in Language 2 155 Thus a form is a recurrent vocal feature which has meaning.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. 168 A form like John or run,..without, for instance, any specification as to final-pitch, is, properly speaking, not a real linguistic form, but only a lexical form; a linguistic form, as actually uttered, always contains a grammatical form.
1953 J. B. Carroll Study of Lang. ii. 49 The comparative linguist can attempt to trace back the forms of a given language to the forms of another, older language.
1953 J. B. Carroll Study of Lang. ii. 49 Historical linguists have prepared lists of ‘reconstructed’ forms.
1962 E. F. Haden et al. Resonance-theory for Ling. ii. 15 Two language entities, between which there is a state of Resonance, may be found to be ‘sames’ as to their Form.
1966 J. M. Sinclair in C. E. Bazell In Memory of J. R. Firth 430 A form, in this article, is a stretch of language which has not yet been assigned a lexical status.
d. Mathematics. A homogeneous polynomial in two or more variables; a quantic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > consisting of specific number of terms
binomial1557
binomy1571
trinomy1571
quadrinomial1673
multinomiala1690
polynomiala1690
trinomiala1690
monomial1706
nomial1717
monome1736
infinitinomial1763
polynome1828
mononomial1844
quantic1854
form1859
Jacobi polynomial1882
Jacobi's function1882
ternariant1882
triquaternion1902
term1957
arity1968
1859 G. Salmon Lessons Mod. Higher Algebra xii. 88 A quadratic form can be reduced in an infinity of ways to a sum of squares, yet the number of positive and negative squares in this sum is fixed.
1903 J. H. Grace & A. Young Algebra of Invariants i. 4 The transformation of the binary form a0x21 + 2a1x1x2 + a2x22.
1928 H. W. Turnbull Theory of Determinants iii. 31 It is a linear homogeneous form in n arguments.
1928 H. W. Turnbull Theory of Determinants viii. 133 A homogeneous polynomial is a form or quantic.
1953 F. Blum tr. B. L. Van der Waerden Mod. Algebra (ed. 2) I. iii. 48 A polynomial is said to be homogeneous or to be a form if all of its terms are of the same degree.
6. † a. gen. A grade or degree of rank, quality, excellence, or eminence; one of the classes forming a series arranged in order of merit, official dignity, proficiency in learning, etc. Obsolete. [So late Latin forma prima, secunda, etc., used of the various orders in the clergy, etc.] figurative.1774 J. W. Fletcher Ess. Truth ix, in First Pt. Equal Check 201 If there are various forms in the school of Truth.
ΚΠ
c1430 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes (1544) i. viii. 12 b Minos..Made statutes..Of righteousnes they toke the fyrst fourme.
1579 E. K. in E. Spenser Shepheardes Cal. Gen. Argt. §3 These..Æclogues..may be..deuided into three formes or ranckes.
c1609 Beaumont Papers (1884) 21 I looke for no ordinarie cocke, hauyng of myne owne of that fourme more then I know what to doe withall.
1662 E. Stillingfleet Origines Sacræ ii. ii. §6 Certainly this kind of Learning deserves the highest form among the difficiles Nugæ.
1687 Bp. G. Burnet Def. Refl. Varillas's Hist. Heresies 123 He cannot bear my saying that such matters were above men of his form.
1700 S. Pepys Let. in Diary VI. 225 Thinking is working, though many forms beneath what my Lady and you are doing.
1702 R. Steele Funeral ii. 31 The Tongue is the Instrument of Speech to us of a lower Form.
1710 True Acct. Last Distemper T. Whigg i. 22 The Doctor was a Physician of the first form.
b. spec. One of the numbered classes into which the pupils of a school are divided according to their degree of proficiency.In English Schools the sixth form is usually the highest; when a larger number of classes is required, the numbered ‘forms’ are divided into ‘upper’ and ‘lower’, etc. The word is usually explained as meaning originally ‘a number of scholars sitting on the same form’ (sense 17); but there appears to be no ground for this.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > division of pupils > form or class
form1560
first forma1602
remove1718
shell1736
sixth-form1807
lower sixth (form)1818
pettya1827
grade1835
the twenty1857
baby class1860
standard1862
nursery class1863
primer1885
reception class1902
sixth form1938
reception1975
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. clx The maner of teaching the youth, and diuiding them into fourmes.
a1641 T. Heywood & W. Rowley Fortune by Land & Sea iii, in Wks. (1874) VI. 399 We two were bred together, Schoole fellows, Both of one form and like degree in School.
1730 J. Clarke Ess. Educ. Youth (ed. 2) 110 The Master is obliged to divide his time amongst Boys of different Forms.
1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant I. i. 13 He was in the fifth form at Eton.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > prototype > [noun] > model, pattern, or example
byseningc1175
mirrora1300
samplera1300
formc1384
calendarc1385
patternc1425
exemplar?a1439
lighta1450
projectc1450
moul1565
platform1574
module1608
paradigma1623
specimen1642
butt1654
paradigm1669
type1847
fore-mark1863
model1926
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Thess. i. 7 So that ȝe ben maad fourme, or ensaumple, to alle men bileuynge.
c1425 Wyntoun Cron. vii. vi. 19 Hys Lyf wes fowrme of all meknes, Merowr he wes of Rychtwysnes.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. iii. 193 To make abstract general Ideas, and set them up in the Mind, with Names annexed to them, as Patterns, or Forms, (for in that sense the word Form has a very proper signification..).
8. Due shape, proper figure; orderly arrangement of parts, regularity, good order; also, military formation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > [noun] > orderly condition or arrangement
ordinancec1390
pointa1393
direction1407
order?a1425
framec1475
orderliness1571
form1600
decorum1610
shape1633
disposurea1637
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun]
rayc1440
form1600
formation1796
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 20 In goodly forme comes on the enemy. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iv. 101 I will not keepe this forme vpon my head, When there is such disorder in my witte! View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 17 'Gainst Form and Order they their Power employ; Nothing to Build and all things to Destroy.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1652 (1955) III. 60 His Garden, which he was now desirous to put into some forme.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 140 Where heaps of Billows..In Form of War, their wat'ry Ranks divide. View more context for this quotation
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 238 They came dropping in..not..in Form as they went, but all in Heaps.
1775 R. King Life & Corr. (1894) I. 9 As soon as one Man was shot down in the front, another from the Rear immediately filled his place, and by that means [they] kept their Body in form.
9. Style of expressing the thoughts and ideas in literary or musical composition, including the arrangement and order of the different parts of the whole. Also, method of arranging the ideas in logical reasoning; good or just order (of ideas, etc.), †logical sequence.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > [noun] > logical order or sequence
form1551
shape1551
logical form1840
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > [noun] > form or order of a work
shape1357
form1551
methoda1586
structure1598
cast1774
composition1839
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > process of reasoning, ratiocination > argument, source of conviction > [noun] > logical sequence
consecution1532
consequency1548
form1551
consequence1571
connection1651
consequentiality1885
connectedness1886
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > type of piece > form > [noun]
form1876
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Uv The faulte that is in the forme, or maner of makyng [of a syllogism].
1576 A. Fleming tr. Caecina in Panoplie Epist. 81 It reasoneth with itselfe in this forme and order.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. i. 162 Nor what he spake, though it lackt forme a little, Was not like madnes. View more context for this quotation
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxxv. sig. F2v In polisht forme of well refined pen.
1667 W. Temple Let. to M. Gourville in Wks. (1731) II. 32 I am very little satisfied with the Queen of Spain's Letter..I think the Form is faulty, as well as the Substance.
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic vi. 149 Every correct step of Reasoning, considered simply as such, or in reference to its Form.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 6 Hardly a page of all these countless leaves is common form.
1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 174/2 Form, the shape and order in which musical ideas are presented.
1879 J. R. Green Readings Eng. Hist. xxvii. 139 He read the Sonnets of Petrarca, and he learnt what is meant by ‘form’ in poetry.
1889 J. R. Lowell Latest Ess. (1892) 144 Form..is the artistic sense of decorum controlling the coordination of parts and ensuring their harmonious subservience to a common end.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [noun]
wayeOE
costOE
wise971
gatec1175
custc1275
form1297
guise13..
mannerc1300
kindc1330
assizea1375
plighta1393
makea1400
fashionc1400
reason?c1400
method1526
voye1541
how1551
way1563
garb1600
quality1600
mould1603
quomodo1623
modus1648
mode1649
turn1825
road1855
gait1866
methodology1932
stylee1982
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [phrase] > in this, some, any, etc., way > in the same way
in like form1297
in manner ofa1375
of the same1399
the same1765
just the same1874
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 447 Ȝyf byssop..ded were, He grantede, þat þoru kyng non destourbance nere, Þat me ne chose in ryȝte fourme anoþer anon.
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 177 Crist ȝyveþ his prechours foorme how þei shal lyue in þis work.
1475 Bk. Noblesse (1860) 24 It is in like fourme knowen of high recorde.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lxxx In lyke fourme who comyth unto confessyon [etc.].
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iv. viii. 119 Over their shoulders, in the fourme and maner as the picture following doth shew.
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper ii. 115 He..was crucified..as his master was, but after a diverse forme, with his head downward.
11. † c. In University language: The regular course of exercises, attendance on lectures, etc., prescribed for a particular degree. Only in phrase for his form = Latin pro forma. Obsolete.
a. A set, customary, or prescribed way of doing anything; a set method of procedure according to rule (e.g. at law); formal procedure. a matter of form: a point of formal procedure; originally a legal phrase; hence colloquial = a merely formal affair; a point of ordinary routine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > prescribed rule of conduct > a prescribed course or procedure
form1297
ordinarya1400
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > acting according to some standard, fashion, etc. > conformity to established rules > mere conventional observance > something done for form's sake
formality1664
form1711
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 491 & in gode fourme acorded hii were.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19981 Þe form þat him bitaght was ar O baptisȝing, he held it þar.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 23 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) The wrongfull distrayning of any mans goods, against the forme of Common Law.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 2 The plaine forme of marriage. View more context for this quotation
1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. viii. 478 Their general; who used, in all dispatches made by Himself, to observe all decency in the forms.
1711 [see sense 15a]. 1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 55. 355 The Lords..only laid hold of some Forms of Law to have prevented Judgment.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iv. 59 He was content to go on in the old Forms.
1787 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 272 A paper from the admiralty..sent to me as a matter of form.
1805 T. Lindley Voy. Brasil (1808) 77 To make his report..from whence he came, &c. (a form to which the Portuguese merchantmen are all subject).
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. ix. 706 The other commissioners being seldom called to deliberate, or so much as assemble for form sake.
1824 H. J. Stephen Treat. Princ. Pleading ii. §1. 254 As the party has no option in accepting the issue, when well tendered, and as the similiter may in that case be added for him, the acceptance of the issue when well tendered, may be considered as a mere matter of form.
1870 J. Lubbock Origin of Civilisation (ed. 2) i. 2 The form of capture in weddings.
b. in form (now usually in due or proper form): according to the rules or prescribed methods; also, as a matter of merely formal procedure, formally; the form (somewhat colloquial): the state of affairs, what is happening or going on, the position; the correct procedure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > in conformity with or according to [phrase] > according to rule
by the book1556
in form1703
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [noun] > usual course, condition, etc. > the usual or ordinary way or procedure > as established or accepted
orderc1300
usation1556
in form1703
drill1940
programme1966
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > state of affairs or situation
thingeOE
stallc1000
estrec1300
farea1325
arrayc1386
casea1393
costa1400
state of thingsa1500
style?a1505
predicament1586
facta1617
posture1620
picture1661
situation1750
position1829
lie1850
posish1859
state of play1916
the form1934
score1938
sitch1954
1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. E3 Itt sholde be putte in writinge, and reduitede in fourme of lawe.]
1703 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) V. 350 Count de Frize, governor of Landau, writes, that [he] expects to be attackt in form.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 164. ¶5 He recovered himself enough to give her the Absolution in Form.
1736 T. Lediard Life Marlborough I. 24 The Art..of besieging a strong Town in Form.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. i. xi. 67 The Citadel was defended in Form, and at length, in proper Form, surrendered at Discretion. View more context for this quotation
1782 J. Warton Ess. on Pope (new ed.) II. x. 185 The publisher..makes a grave apology in form.
1805 T. Lindley Narr. Voy. to Brasil xix The laws, which heretofore existed only in form, have been thoroughly enforced.
1934 E. Waugh Handful of Dust 21 ‘I'm going to Hetton tomorrow.’..‘What's the form?’ ‘Very quiet and enjoyable.’
1936 P. Fleming News from Tartary ii. ii. 76 I sent a wire to..Reuter's Correspondent at the capital..who..would be sure to know the form.
1940 N. Mitford Pigeon Pie xii. 192 She read somewhere that this was the form in Imperial Russia.
1951 ‘N. Shute’ Round Bend 87 He came along to the hotel each morning and evening to find out the form and when I wanted him.
1958 J. Cannan And be Villain i. 36 Eve, you know the form—telephone for a doctor.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [adverb] > qualifying for degree
for his formc1470
c1470 J. Hardyng Chron. cx. (heading) At Oxenford, where the clerkes be sworne they shall not rede for theyr fourme at Stamforde.
1523 Act 14 & 15 Hen. VIII v, in Statutes of Realm (1817) III. 214 A Graduat of Oxforde or Cantebrygge which hath accomplisshed all thyng for his fourme.
1574 M. Stokys in G. Peacock Observ. Statutes Univ. Cambr. (1841) App. 19 Iff a Bachelar off Dyvynyte preche for his Frurme.
12. † c. A formula, recipe, prescription. Obsolete.
a. A set or fixed order of words (e.g. as used in religious ritual); the customary or legal method of drawing up a writing or document.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal document > [noun] > art of drawing up > customary method of
form1399
society > faith > worship > observance, ritual > [noun] > instance or form of
churchOE
servicelOE
rightlOE
observancea1250
officec1300
preachingc1350
ritec1350
ceremonyc1380
usea1382
prayerc1384
form1399
ordinancea1400
ordera1425
worship?a1425
worshippingc1443
common prayer1493
common servicea1500
ordinarya1513
celebrity1534
church servicea1555
religious exercise1560
function1564
agend1581
church office1581
liturgy1593
Common Prayer service1648
ritualities1648
ceremonial1672
hierurgy1678
occasion1761
religiosities1834
cursus1865
joss-pidgin1886
worship service1929
1399 Rolls of Parl. III. 424/1 Ȝe renounsed and cessed of the State of Kyng..uppe the fourme that is contened in the same Renunciation and Cession.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ciiiv Our lorde & sauiour Jesu Christ hath gyuen vs a forme howe to praye.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xxvi. 56 A strange conceipt, that to serue God with any set forme of common prayer is superstitious.
1649 Εἰκων Βασιλικη xvi. 141 Nor are constant Formes of Prayers more likely to flat and hinder the Spirit of prayer and devotion.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 17 Nov. (1970) I. 295 I inquired..for a form for a nobleman to make one his Chaplin. But I understanding that there is not any, I did draw up one.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 121. ¶1 Monsieur Bale..delivers the same Opinion, tho' in a bolder form of words.
1729 W. Law Serious Call xiv. 241 I think a form of prayer very necessary.
1805 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. V. 52 The form of this fine is; ‘And the agreement is such, to wit, that [etc.]’.
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. x. 83 You'll memorialise that Department (according to regular forms which you'll find out) for leave to memorialise this Department.
b. A formulary document with blanks for the insertion of particulars.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > paper > [noun] > blank form for filling in
blank1586
write-off1751
card1817
registration card1842
application1849
entry form1856
form1856
application blank1866
pro forma1928
fiche1949
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. x. 83 I can give you plenty of forms to fill up.
1885 Act 48 Vict. c. 15 Sched. ii. Forms ii. Form A You are hereby required to fill up accurately the underwritten form.
1895 Times 5 Feb. 12/3 A message written on a telegraph form.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > saying, maxim, adage > serious saying, dictum > [noun] > as rule of conduct, etc.
precepta1325
form1484
principle?1533
tenenta1556
maxima1564
maxim1578
primate1596
teneta1620
brocarda1623
formulaa1638
sutra1801
eleventh commandment1857
metarule1945
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope 213 A young man, that made pilles, after a certaine forme that he [a Physition] had shewed vnto him.
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke vi. xxiii. 299 The forme and making wherof [ointments] is to be sought out of the Antidotaries.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 186 Armetia..prescribeth this forme for the cure of this euill: let the Dog be put into the Water..and then..let his haire be shaued off.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > [noun] > an agreement
forewardOE
accordc1275
covenant1297
end1297
form1297
frettec1330
conjurationc1374
treatc1380
bargainc1386
contractc1386
comenaunt1389
compositionc1405
treaty1427
pact1429
paction1440
reconventionc1449
treatisea1464
hostage1470
packa1475
trystc1480
bond (also band) of manrent1482
covenance1484
concordance1490
patisement1529
capitulation1535
conventmenta1547
convenience1551
compact1555
negotiation1563
sacrament1563
match1569
consortship1592
after-agreementa1600
combourgeoisie1602
convention1603
comburghership1606
transaction1611
end-makingc1613
obligement1627
bare contract1641
stipulation1649
accompackmentc1650
rue-bargaina1657
concordat1683
minute1720
tacka1758
understanding1803
meet1804
it's a go1821
deal1863
whizz1869
stand-in1870
gentlemen's agreement1880
meeting of minds1883
society > authority > delegated authority > [noun] > authorization > a token or evidence of > written
form1297
commission1397
precept1397
warrant-dormant1423
bill of remembrance1481
warranta1513
warrantment1599
exequatur1788
brown-paper warrant1867
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8766 An fourme hii made þat eiþer helde is owe lond in is hond.
c1305 St. Kenelm 314 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 56 Hi makede a forme þat [etc.].
1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/1 Hym to harme and dishonure, agayn the fourme of a Loveday taken bytwen the same parties.
14. † b. A way of behaving oneself, an instance of behaviour of a given kind; in plural = manners. Obsolete.
a. A set method of outward behaviour or procedure in accordance with prescribed usage, etiquette, ritual, etc.; a ceremony or formality. (Often slightingly, as implying the absence of intrinsic meaning or reality.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > prescribed rule of conduct > set method of behaviour or procedure
form1612
1612 J. Davies Discouerie Causes Ireland 234 That the Parliamentes of Ireland, might want no desent or honorable forme that was vsed in England.
1643 J. Burroughes Expos. Hosea (1652) 212 Many who have no religion but a forme, yet neglect Gods forme.
1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i. 5 The Forms and Civility of the last Age.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. i. i. 7 After the usual Forms at first meeting, Euphranor and I sat down by them.
1805 T. Lindley Voy. Brasil (1808) 29 The sacrament, which was administered with all its forms.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. vii. 620 They put on the forms of distance; and stood upon elevated terms [with the envoys].
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam ciii. 161 For who would keep an ancient form Through which the spirit breathes no more? View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > mode or manner of behaviour or conduct
rate1517
pass1555
forma1616
style1770
pose1892
the world > action or operation > behaviour > [noun] > in social intercourse > estimated as good or bad
mannersa1375
forma1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. iv. 56 If the gentle spirit of mouing words Can no way change you to a milder forme . View more context for this quotation
1616 J. Haig in J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde (1881) vi. 140 My brother..breaks up the letter, whilk was no gentlemanly form.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 300 It doth much adde, to a Mans Reputation..to have good Formes.
a1639 J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1655) vi. 395 When he perceived the Kings countenance not to be towards him..he changed his forms.
15.
a. Behaviour according to prescribed or customary rules; observance of etiquette, ceremony, or decorum. in (full, great) form: with due ceremony. Often depreciatively: Mere outward ceremony or formality, conventional observance of etiquette, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > ceremony or formality > [adverb]
in (full, great) formc1405
solemnedlyc1480
religiously1576
ceremoniously1600
complementally?1617
ceremonially1644
complimentally1679
solemn1743
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [noun] > seemly behaviour or propriety > strict decorum
formc1405
galancie1581
ceremoniousness1583
punctilio1596
formality1599
ceremony1603
punctuality1618
punctillea1648
complementalness1657
formalness1684
punctiliousness1685
nicety1693
ceremonial1749
square-toedness1846
punctiliosity1859
uptightness1969
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > [noun] > acting according to some standard, fashion, etc. > conformity to established rules > mere conventional observance
forma1672
eyewash1857
bullshit1930
bull1941
the mind > emotion > pride > ostentation > ceremony or formality > [adverb] > as a matter of form
pro forma1590
in (full, great) form1788
formally1870
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 307 Noght oo word spak he moore than was neede And that was sapoke in forme and reuerence.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. i. 156 The glasse of fashion, and the mould of forme . View more context for this quotation
a1672 A. Wood Life (1848) 118 A fellow of little or no religion, only for forme-sake.
1703 R. Steele Tender Husband v. i We'll eat the Dinner, and have a Dance together, or we shall transgress all form.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 147. ⁋2 When I reflected on my former Performance of that Duty, I found I had run it over as a matter of Form.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 102 They cou'd no more bury in Form, Rich or Poor.
1776 S. Foote Bankrupt i. 3 There is so much confinement, and form, even in the most fashionable families.
1788 Ld. Auckland Diary in Lett. (1861) II. 74 We went in the evening in a carriage in full form.
1804 J. Grahame Sabbath 37 Of giving thanks to God—not thanks of form, A word and a grimace, but rev'rently.
1805 T. Lindley Voy. Brasil (1808) 126 These officers accordingly attended in great form.
a1842 T. Arnold in A. P. Stanley Life & Corr. T. Arnold (1844) II. App. A. 344 Whether while we worshipped Thee in form, we worshipped Thee in spirit and in truth.
1871 F. W. Farrar Witness of Hist. iii. 97 To plant the standard of Christian freedom upon the ruins of Levitical form.
b. good (also bad) form: said of behaviour, manners, etc. which satisfy (or offend) the current ideals of ‘Society’; (good or bad) manners. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [noun] > seemly behaviour or propriety
seemlihead?a1366
honestya1398
comeliness1440
seemlihoodc1440
seemlityc1440
semblessea1500
seemliness1548
decentness1561
decorum?1571
handsomeness1595
civility1612
decency1682
exactness1683
elegance1686
propriety1753
thing1791
bienseancea1797
convenances1831
decorousness1834
the becoming1842
correctnessa1859
good (also bad) form1868
properness1873
correctitude1893
the done thing1917
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [noun] > unmannerliness
unmannerliness1550
misnurturednessa1578
misnurturenessa1599
incivility1603
perperitude1623
good (also bad) form1868
sans-gêne1893
mannerlessness1913
1868 Daily News 24 Dec. Happily it is not good form even to purchase the Bacchanalian handkerchiefs of the Burlington-arcade.
1883 E. B. England Notes in Euripides Iphigenia in Tauris 122 This excellent sentiment makes us wonder if οἱ νέοι in Euripides's day thought energy ‘such awf'ly bad form, you know’.
1890 Spectator 7 June 791 It is not good intellectual form to grow angry in discussion.
16.
a. Sport. Of a horse: Condition in regard to health and training; fitness for running or racing; style and speed in running (as compared with competitors). (See quot. 1861.) in form: fit to run, ‘in condition’; so out of form. Said also of athletes (e.g. oarsmen, cricketers) and players generally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > physical condition or types of
form1760
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > qualities of sportsperson > condition or fitness
bottom1747
staying power1859
form1869
steel1891
match-fitness1960
1760 R. Heber Horse Matches ix. 148 A horse in a very high form.
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 35 Bringing horses of different forms, together, over Newmarket.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 115 To enable him to run in his best form.
1861 J. H. Walsh & J. I. Lupton Horse vi. 84 When we say that a horse is ‘in form’ we intend to convey to our hearers that he is in high condition and fit to run.
1869 M. A. Barker Station Life N.Z. (1874) xvii. 126 One of the new chums, who was not supposed to be in good form for a long walk.
1880 W. Day Racehorse in Training xvi. 157 The mare had simply lost her form—she was not so good as a three- as she was as a two-year-old.
1882 Standard 20 Nov. 2/8 Mitchell was in good form, whilst Peall did not play so well as on previous days [at billiards].
1883 Times 22 Oct. 10/2 Glocke..has not run in this country, but has shown fair form abroad.
1884 Cambr. Rev. 10 Dec. 131 In the winning crew: M...kept his form well.
b. transferred. Liveliness, high spirits, conversational powers, or the like. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [noun] > cheerful liveliness
taitea1400
lightsomeness?a1425
alacritya1460
life1583
sprightfulness1602
airiness1628
alacriousness1657
animal spirits1701
spirits1716
chirpiness1867
form1877
chipperness1887
1877 Mrs. Church Father's Name (Tauchn.) II. i. 17 The Misses Lillietrip were in great form.
1884 Nonconformist & Independent 7 Feb. 130/2 The Irish members..did not appear to have recovered their usual form.
1895 Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 114 Macturk was in great form after his breakfast, apologising to my wife with the grandest air.
c. slang. (Without preceding article.) A ‘police record’; a criminal conviction.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > involvement with the police > police record
police record1773
record1897
jacket1910
form sheet1911
form1958
1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights iii. 151 You can get at least a five..for getting captured with a shooter especially if you've got a bit of form behind you.
1960 ‘M. Underwood’ Death by Misadventure vi. 91 He has form for false pretences, mostly small stuff.
1964 ‘J. Prescot’ Case for Court vi. 107 There's loads of form written down on my conviction card... Juvenile court, police court, quarter sessions and assizes—I've seen 'em all.
II. Denoting various material objects.† 19.
17. A long seat without a back, a bench. [So Old French forme, medieval Latin forma, applied also to the stalls in a choir, with back, and book-rest. For the origin of this use of the word, compare Old French s'asseoir en forme, to sit in a row or in fixed order.]
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > bench > [noun]
bencheOE
binkc1175
bankc1275
forma1387
sede1552
siege1566
bench seat1825
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 99 Benches, stoles, formes.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 172/1 Foorme, longe stole, sponda.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. ccxxii. f. cxliii The Munkes with Fourmes and Candelstyckes defended theym.
1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII c. 10 The same fourme that the arche~bishop of Canterburie sitteth on.
1613 S. Hieron Baptizing of Eunuch in Wks. (1620) I. 282 To sitte in the schoole of Christ vpon the learners forme.
1641 in J. Barmby Churchwardens' Accts. Pittington (1888) 191 Item for 2 short fourmes to sett a coffin uppon.
1694 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) V. 192 I went to Paules to see the Choire..: The pulling out of the Formes, like drawers from under the stalles, is very ingenious.
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 320 They have no Seats, as in our Churches, only Forms.
1833 L. Ritchie Wanderings by Loire 33 A large cold room, garnished with deal tables and forms.
1875 ‘A. R. Hope’ My Schoolboy Friends 35 Abbing was made to stand upon a form.
1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 139 The First Three Lessons..were read by Boys from each side alternately from the first Form.
18.
a. Mechanics, etc. A mould or ‘shape’; an implement on which anything is shaped or fashioned.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > moulds or shaping equipment
mouldc1330
share mould1568
matrice1587
matrix1626
form1655
ice mould1781
intaglio1825
hand mould1829
striker1843
wax-mould1849
Savoy mould1866
snap-flask1875
moulding board1882
pipe diea1884
injection mould1945
shell-mould1950
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > cast or impression > mould
mouldc1330
matrice1587
moulder1612
plasm1620
matrix1626
model1636
form1655
impress1695
proplasm1695
form-board1917
1655 W. Gouge & T. Gouge Learned Comm. Hebrewes (iii. 1) i. 273 If the form be square or round, so will the metall be.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. 63 To have a form of Wood turned to the height of the Cartredge.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Form, is also us'd in the Mechanic Arts, for a kind of Mould, whereon a Thing is fashion'd, or wrought. As the Hatters Form, the Papermakers Form, &c.
1858 in P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Forms, the moulds for making wads by.
b. A temporary structure for containing fresh concrete and giving it the required shape while it sets.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > temporary support for concrete
shuttering1895
form1908
formwork1918
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > equipment for concrete construction > mould
mould1868
form1908
form-board1917
sonotube1943
1908 T. Potter Concrete (ed. 3) xvi. 281 There are no set methods for making forms; a common-sense joiner will soon develop ideas of his own..especially if he sees castings turned out a few times.
1964 Economist 6 June 1151/1 A ‘slip form paver’..pulls along behind it its own shuttering or ‘forms’ which keep the concrete from spreading sideways as it sets.
a. A window-frame. [So French forme.] Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > parts of windows > [noun] > window-frame
form1463
case1517
window frame1627
gasement1628
window case1660
casement1662
sash1681
chassis1691
Venetian frame1833
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 39 The glas and the foorme of stoon that longith vnto the same wyndowe.
b. A case or box. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > case or container > [noun]
casea1382
custody1483
clausure1564
pen-case1577
forel1578
form1594
cap-case1597
cassole1599
scissor case1602
out-case1651
carrying case1867
carry case1897
1594 H. Plat Jewell House 1 Cause new fourmes of Lead to be made..in euerie of which fourmes place one flower..let these fourmes be well fitted with their apt couers, and sodered verie close.
20.
a. Printing. A body of type, secured in a chase, for printing at one impression. (Often spelt forme.)
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [noun] > forme
form1481
type-form1839
1481 W. Caxton tr. Siege & Conqueste Jerusalem (1893) ccxii. 312 Whiche book I.. sette in forme & enprynted the xx day of nouembre.
c1483 W. Caxton Bk. for Travellers 24 b At Westmestre by london In fourmes enprinted [Fr. En formes impressee].
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 338 The Printer that putteth ynke vpon the fourmes.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses II. 315 He flew to the Printing-house and commanded the Compositors to distribute the form.
a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) i. 45 On occasion, I carried up & down Stairs a large Form of Types in each hand.
1882 C. Pebody Eng. Journalism xv. 107 The printers, even with three sets of formes, often found themselves working off papers half through the night.
1888 J. Southward in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 700 The pages of types..are then ready to be made into a forme.
b. to go up the form (see quot. 16831).
ΚΠ
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 318 Thus Beating from the hither towards the farther side, is in Press-mens phrase called Going up the Form.
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 318 Then in like manner he again skips the Balls from the second and fourth Row to the first and third Row, and again Goes up the Form with the Balls.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. iii. 121/2 Going up the Form, it is a Pressman phrase, when he beat over the first and thrid rows or colums of the Form with his Ink Balls.
21.
a. The nest or lair in which a hare crouches. Also rarely, of a deer.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [noun] > family Leporidae > genus Lepus (hares) > lepus europaeus (hare) > lair or breeding place
formc1290
maze1486
meuse1585
squat1590
muset1594
stool1607
hare-warren1647
seat1735
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > family Cervidae (deer) > [noun] > place frequented by
saltary1598
form1799
pen1829
yard1829
saltory1867
saltatory1903
c1290 , etc. in Middle Eng. Dict.
a1300 Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 318 I-buyd as an hare Whan he in forme lyth.
c1386 G. Chaucer Shipman's Tale 104 As in a fourme sitteth a wery hare.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 172/1 Foorme of an hare, or oþer lyke, lustrum.
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lviii. 161 When a Hare ryseth out of the forme.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xxxiii. 859 The first point..for the killing of the hare, consisteth in finding out her forme.
1735 W. Somervile Chace ii. 38 In the dry crumbling Bank Their Forms they delve.
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 329 The young [deer] keep close to their form, until the dam return to raise them.
1845 C. Darwin Jrnl. (ed. 2) iii. 46 The Indians catch the Varying Hare by walking spirally round and round, it when on its form.
1916 E. Blunden Harbingers 63 Strange streams Flow flagging in the undescribed deep fourms Of creatures born the first of all.
1952 R. Campbell tr. C. Baudelaire Poems 77 Whereon as in a fourm you would fill out And mould your hair.
b. transferred.
ΚΠ
1589 Pappe with Hatchet (1844) 19 The knaue was started from his Fourme.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxiii. 215 Some Fames are most difficult to trace home to their form.
1655 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 1st Pt. 141 After he had hunted Pharoah out of all his formes and burrowes.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
form-establishing adj.
ΚΠ
1599 S. Daniel Musophilus in Wks. (1717) 388 Form-establishing Devotion.
form-fitting adj.
ΚΠ
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 237/2 Balbriggan Drawers... Elastic and form fitting.
1970 J. Sangster Touchfeather, Too iv. 87 A girl like me, with a trim little form-fitting uniform to wear, has absolutely no place where she can conceal a gun.
form-shifting adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > [adjective] > changing in form
form-shifting1593
Protean1594
shape-changing1621
Proteusian1689
metamorphostical1722
metamorphic1816
proteiform1833
shape-shifting1884
1593 T. Nashe Christs Teares f. 77v A forme-shyfting deuill, disguised in mans lykenesse.
b. (In sense 6b.)
form-fellow n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > [noun] > equal, counterpart, or equivalent
ylikeeOE
likea1200
make?c1225
fellow?a1425
proportion?a1425
countervailc1430
matcha1450
meetc1450
pareil?c1450
resemblant1484
equivalent1502
countermatch1587
second1599
parallel1600
equipollent1611
balancea1616
tantamount1637
analogy1646
analogate1652
form-fellow1659
equivalency1698
par1711
homologizer1716
peel1722
analogon1797
quits1806
correlate1821
analogue1837
representant1847
homologue1848
countertype1855
homologon1871
correlative1875
vis-à-vis1900
counterpart1903
society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > schoolfellow
school ferea1387
schoolfellow1440
schoolmate1563
school companion1739
school chuma1817
form-fellow1820
fellow1844
1659 T. Fuller Appeal Iniured Innocence i. 55* The Brittaines, form-fellowes with the Grecians, were wholly given to Idolatry.
1820 Ld. Byron Let. 6 Oct. (1977) VII. 192 I met..my old School and form-fellow.
form-master n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > teacher > schoolteacher or schoolmaster > [noun] > form master
form-master1888
1888 Daily News 10 Sept. 5/3 The active rivalry of form masters.
form-room n.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > place of education > educational buildings > [noun] > school > schoolroom
schoolroom1673
classroom1777
form-room1875
1875 Cliftonian Apr. 40 Let the admirer of antiquity confine his excitement to the form-room.
1897 H. W. Bleackley Short Innings xv The bell..signified that all the boys should be in their form rooms.
1907 C. L. Thomson Teaching English 11 The form-room library, under the control of the form mistress.
c. (In sense 12b.)
form-filling n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > manner of writing > [noun] > form-filling
form-filling1856
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) ii. viii. 387 The work of form-filling..memorandum-making.
1960 Guardian 3 Feb. 6/4 A minimum of fuss but plenty of form-filling.
C2. Librarianship. Used attributively in form-catalogue, form-class, etc., to denote a catalogue or catalogue entry in which books of a certain kind (poetry, almanacs, fiction, etc.) are listed together.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > book list > [noun] > list of books in library or libraries > types of library list or catalogue
curating book1697
card catalogue1853
title catalogue1875
form-catalogue1876
shelf-catalogue1882
sheaf catalogue1902
shelf-list1910
society > communication > book > book list > [noun] > list of books in library or libraries > types of library list or catalogue > division of
facet1944
form-class1966
1876 C. A. Cutter Rules Dict. Catal. in Public Libraries U.S.A.: Special Rep.: Pt. II (Dept. Interior, Bureau Educ.) Contents Form-catalogue.
1876 C. A. Cutter Rules Dict. Catal. in Public Libraries U.S.A.: Special Rep.: Pt. II (Dept. Interior, Bureau Educ.) 14 Form-entry, registry under the name of the kind of literature to which the book belongs.
1876 C. A. Cutter Rules Dict. Catal. in Public Libraries U.S.A.: Special Rep.: Pt. II (Dept. Interior, Bureau Educ.) 49 In the catalogues of libraries consisting chiefly of English books, if it is thought most convenient to make form-entries under the headings Poetry, Drama, Fiction, it may be done.
1876 C. A. Cutter Rules Dict. Catal. in Public Libraries U.S.A.: Special Rep.: Pt. II (Dept. Interior, Bureau Educ.) 49 There is no reason but want of room why only collections should be entered under form-headings.
1876 C. A. Cutter Rules Dict. Catal. in Public Libraries U.S.A.: Special Rep.: Pt. II (Dept. Interior, Bureau Educ.) 49 In the case of English fiction a form-list is of such constant use that nearly all libraries have separate fiction catalogues.
1913 J. H. Quinn Library Cataloguing 30 Form-Catalogue is one in which the entries are arranged according to the forms of literature and the languages in which the books are written, either alphabetically or according to the relations of the forms to one another.
1966 T. Landau Encycl. Librarianship (ed. 3) 105/2 Form Classes or divisions are used to contain those works which are required more for the way in which they are written or presented than their subject content.
C3. † form-pieces n. Architecture Obsolete plural the pieces of stone which constitute the tracery of a window: cf. 19a.
form-board n. (a) a device used in intelligence tests; (b) = 18b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > [noun] > cast or impression > mould
mouldc1330
matrice1587
moulder1612
plasm1620
matrix1626
model1636
form1655
impress1695
proplasm1695
form-board1917
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > equipment for concrete construction > mould
mould1868
form1908
form-board1917
sonotube1943
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > test of mental ability > [noun] > test of learning patterns
form-board1917
programme1950
1917 L. M. Terman et al. Stanford Rev. Binet-Simon Scale vii. 142 In the form-board test, the younger subjects were a little superior to the older.
1947 P. L. Harriman Dict. Psychol. 141 Form-board, a measure of intelligence which consists of blocks to be fitted into a recess.
1952 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. Feb. 79 Two versions of the test, of which the first is a ‘formboard’ requiring the actual placing of a piece to complete the pattern.
1958 Archit. Rev. 113 222/1 Formboards are laid between their flanges, mesh reinforcement is laid over tees and formboard, and gypsum concrete is pumped on to make a roof of about 3 in. thick.
form book n. [ 16] a record of the performances of a racehorse; also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > equipment > [noun] > books
Ruff1853
form book1923
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xiv. 180 The race went by the form-book all right.
1934 P. G. Wodehouse Right ho, Jeeves i. 14 Gussie Fink-Nottle, against all the ruling of the form book, might have fallen in love.
1955 T. Rattigan Separate Tables i According to this form book, Marston Lad is worth a bob or two each way.
1962 John o' London's 1 Feb. 115/1 Her acting range, when you go through the form-book, though deep, is also somewhat narrow.
form-class n. (a) Forestry (see quot. 1905), (b) Linguistics a class of linguistic forms having some feature in common, such as being usable in the same position within a given construction, or being spoken with exclamatory final pitch.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > [noun] > linguistic category or set
form-class1905
category1933
superset1970
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > [noun] > growing-stock > form-class of trees
form-class1905
1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (Bull. U.S. Dept. Agric., Bureau Forestry, No. 61) 12 Form class, all trees in a stand so similar in form that the same form factor is applicable in determining their actual volume.
1921 E. Sapir Lang. Index 252 Form-classes.
1932 Forestry 6 143 Each tree was placed in its form-class according to the value of the girth quotient.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. ix. 146 All English substantives belong to a form-class.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. xii. 202 The form-class of limiting adjectives is much smaller than that of descriptive adjectives.
1958 C. F. Hockett Course in Mod. Linguistics xviii. 162 A class of forms which have similar privileges of occurrence in building larger forms is a form-class.
1962 in F. W. Householder & S. Saporta Probl. Lexicogr. 280 The principle of form-class equivalence, that glosses should be perfect and complete translations in respect to grammatical class.
1970 A. Cameron et al. Computers & Old Eng. Concordances 48 Through the form classes, the user has an index to various class correlations—agreement, concord, [etc.].
form-critic n. one who engages in form-criticism.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [noun] > types of literary criticism > exponent of
form-historian1928
form-critic1933
contextualist1936
New Critic1941
style critic1959
Barthesian1966
new historicist1971
narratologist1974
post-structuralist1974
deconstructor1978
Derridean1978
deconstructionist1982
1933 V. Taylor Format. Gospel Trad. i. 19 The Form-Critics..appear to proceed as if they had lighted upon a method which supersedes all others.
1956 H. Gardner Limits Lit. Crit. ii. 23 The fundamental question which the form-critic asks is ‘Why was the story told?’ or ‘What is the point of the story?’
form-critical adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [adjective] > types of literary criticism
genetic1880
intertextual1904
form-historical1928
form-critical1933
New Critical1945
Leavisite1946
Leavisian1947
Arnoldian1953
post-structural1961
post-structuralist1967
Barthesian1971
Derridean1973
narratological1975
deconstructive1977
new historicist1985
1933 V. Taylor Format. Gospel Trad. i. 19 The historical sketch will have served the purpose..of introducing the leading members of the Form-critical School.
1957 D. E. Nineham Stud. Gospels p. x He seemed largely to accept Bultmann's very negative assessment of the historical value of the Gospels as seen through form-critical eyes.
form-criticism n. [translating German formgeschichte] Theology a method of literary criticism mainly applied to the Bible, and carried out by first classifying passages as belonging to certain forms (e.g. sayings, myths), and then tracing the early history of these forms with the aim of discovering the original form and relating this to its historical setting.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [noun] > types of literary criticism
criticism1625
critical theory1799
literary theory1807
autocriticism1820
pseudo-criticism1851
Formgeschichte1923
form-criticism1928
form-history1928
practical criticism1929
New Criticism1941
contextualism1955
patternism1956
objectivism1961
narratology1971
new historicism1972
deconstruction1973
post-structuralism1975
deconstructionism1980
theory1982
1928 B. S. Easton Gospel before Gospels ii. 32 With Dibelius form-history is raised to the rank of a distinct discipline..in his hands ‘form-history’ becomes ‘form-criticism’.
1935 C. H. Dodd Parables of Kingdom iv. 111 The most recent school of Gospel criticism, that of Formgeschichte, or ‘Form-criticism’, has taught us that in order to understand rightly any passage in the gospels we must enquire into the ‘setting in life’..in which the tradition underlying that passage took form.
1951 N. Annan Leslie Stephen vi. 183 Some critics declare that form-criticism, which discloses the tradition of the early Church, rather than source-criticism, is the most fruitful method of interpreting the evidence.
1963 C. H. Dodd Hist. Trad. in Fourth Gosp. 6 The application of form-criticism opened up new lines of approach.
form drag n. Aeronautics the drag on a moving body that depends directly on its shape and is due to the unequal pressure over its surface that results from the disturbance of the fluid.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > aerodynamic forces and concepts > [noun] > drag > types of
parasite resistance1918
profile drag1922
induced drag1926
parasite drag1927
form drag1931
pressure drag1933
parasitic drag1937
wave drag1948
1931 T. G. Whitlock Appl. Aerodynam. iii. 38 Form drag..is not a frictional or rubbing force acting tangentially to the surface, like skin friction.
1937 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 41 1120 Air resistance consists of the skin friction and of the drag due to the inertia of the medium (‘form drag’ according to modern terminology).
1951 D. O. Dommasch et al. Airplane Aerodynamics vi. 146 The various types of drag..are as follows: (1) form or pressure drag; (2) skin-friction drag; (3) induced drag; and (4) wave drag.
1970 A. C. Kermode Flight without Formulae (ed. 4) 63 That part of the drag which is due to the shape or ‘form’ of a body, and which can be reduced by streamlining, is called form drag.
form factor n. Forestry (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > tree-crop > measurements of standing timber
stumpage1854
scale1877
increment1889
taper1893
basal area1895
form factor1895
cruise1911
1895 W. Schlich Man. Forestry III. i. 36 Under ‘form factor’ is understood the proportion which exists between the volume of a tree and that of a regularly shaped body which has the same base and height as the tree.
1953 Brit. Commonw. For. Term. I. 63 Form factor, the ratio of the volume of a tree or its part to the product of its basal area and height.
form-genus n. Biology a collective group of form-species showing morphological similarities but not necessarily a genetic relationship.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > taxon > [noun] > genus or sub-genus > form-genus or form-species
form-genus1873
form-species1886
1873 Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. 13 411 He is careful to retain a complete and concise enumeration of the various ‘artificial species’, ‘form-genera’, or ‘phases’, in which the natural species may manifest themselves.
1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms 174/2 The form-genus Oidium.
1935 E. A. Bessey Text-bk. Mycol. xiv. 375 Since the genera based on asexual structures do not necessarily indicate true relationships of the included species the term ‘form genus’ was suggested for such groups by Schroeter.
1960 H. H. Swinnerton Fossils x. 58 These genera are therefore not based upon genetic affinity but upon outstanding similarities of form. They are in fact morphological or form genera marking grades of evolution.
form-historian n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [noun] > types of literary criticism > exponent of
form-historian1928
form-critic1933
contextualist1936
New Critic1941
style critic1959
Barthesian1966
new historicist1971
narratologist1974
post-structuralist1974
deconstructor1978
Derridean1978
deconstructionist1982
1928 B. S. Easton Gospel before Gospels ii. 31 The Synoptic material, obviously, offers a tempting field to the form-historian.
form-historical adj. = form-critical adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [adjective] > types of literary criticism
genetic1880
intertextual1904
form-historical1928
form-critical1933
New Critical1945
Leavisite1946
Leavisian1947
Arnoldian1953
post-structural1961
post-structuralist1967
Barthesian1971
Derridean1973
narratological1975
deconstructive1977
new historicist1985
1928 B. S. Easton Gospel before Gospels iii. 59 In 1924 such an examination appeared, The Form-Historical Method, by Licentiate Emil Fascher.
1934 F. C. Grant in Bultmann's Form Criticism i. 7 To grasp the main outlines of the form-historical method.
1954 Sc. Jrnl. Theol. 7 339 There is considerable evidence on form-historical principles themselves.
form-history n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > literary and textual criticism > literary criticism > [noun] > types of literary criticism
criticism1625
critical theory1799
literary theory1807
autocriticism1820
pseudo-criticism1851
Formgeschichte1923
form-criticism1928
form-history1928
practical criticism1929
New Criticism1941
contextualism1955
patternism1956
objectivism1961
narratology1971
new historicism1972
deconstruction1973
post-structuralism1975
deconstructionism1980
theory1982
1928 B. S. Easton Gospel before Gospels ii. 32 With Dibelius form-history is raised to the rank of a distinct discipline..in his hands ‘form-history’ becomes ‘form-criticism’.
form letter n. a standardized letter, esp. one that can be sent to correspondents who inquire about routine matters or topics of frequent occurrence.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > letter intended for many recipients
fire briefa1643
circular letter1659
circulatory letter1668
circular1818
omnibus letter1861
round robin1871
chain letter1906
form letter1909
1909 Sat. Evening Post 13 Feb. 8/1 The credit man..had a perfect passion for form letters.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 11 Mar. 16/7 The original bill and the polite note are as nothing compared with the ‘form’ letter sent out by firms which make a business of debt collecting.
1922 S. Lewis Babbitt iii. 36 The fortnightly form-letter, to be mimeographed and sent out to a thousand ‘prospects’.
1932 Crooks & Dawson Etheridge's Dict. Typewriting (ed. 3) 147 Form letters..are printed forms or skeleton letters which are allotted numbers for identification by the typists when they are instructed..to send stock letters in reply to inquiries which do not warrant separate letters.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) Mag. 17 Feb. 5 A form letter to boys who send in asking for hockey photos.
form-line n. Cartography (usually plural) lines drawn on a map to indicate the estimated configuration or elevation between the contour lines.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > map > [noun] > line on map > contour or form line
contour1840
contour line1844
form-line1935
1935 Geogr. Jrnl. 86 253 The topography sketched in by the use of formlines at intervals of approximately 200 feet.
1951 F. Stark Beyond Euphrates 231 I am still in hectic work over my map, which has to have all the heights and form-lines fixed by Tuesday.
1961 L. D. Stamp Gloss. Geogr. Terms 125/1 Many cartographers are careful to draw a distinction between ‘contours’ which are based on instrumental survey and ‘form-lines’ which are sketched in from general observations.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > tracery > types of > specific parts
form-pieces1360
1360 Ely Sacrist. Roll in J. H. Parker Gloss. Terms Archit. (1850) I. 216 In 2 lapidibus vocat fourme peces empt. 5s.
1450 in J. Raine Hist. Dunelmensis Scriptores Tres (1839) 325 Pro factura ij formpeys.
form quality n. [translating German gestaltqualität (C. von Ehrenfels 1890, in Vierteljahrsschrift f. wissensch. Philos. XIV. 256] (see quot. 1901).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > psychology of perception > object of perception > structure perceived as a whole > [noun] > of particular form
form quality1901
1901 J. M. Baldwin Dict. Philos. & Psychol. I. 391/2 Form quality, that which characterizes a mental whole as being of a particular form, as being formed, or as having relations of parts.
1938 R. S. Woodworth Exper. Psychol. xxv. 623 The form quality of the tune does not reside in the constituent notes but in their pattern and mutual relations.
1948 Mind 57 23 We can..apprehend directly such form-qualities as sketchiness and schematicity.
1955 F. H. Allport Theories of Perception xviii. 498 Form-qualities are one type of such universals, for..they transcend the particular receptor pattern made by the stimulus-object of the moment.
form-species n. see form-genus n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > taxonomy > taxon > [noun] > genus or sub-genus > form-genus or form-species
form-genus1873
form-species1886
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 399/2 Billroth came forward in 1874 with the startling view that the various ‘form-species’ and ‘form-genera’ are only different states of one and the same organism.
form-symbol n. a symbol designating the form of a crystal (see 1c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > crystallography (general) > [noun] > symbols > designating form
form-symbol1959
1959 Dana's Man. Mineral. (ed. 17) ii. 27 Miller indices also may be used as form symbols and are then enclosed in braces.
form-word n. Grammar a word serving the function of an inflection; also gen., a word expressing a formal or grammatical feature; a function word; = functor n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > [noun] > function word
particle1533
parcel1571
syncategorem1655
agency1778
empty word1854
symbolic1871
form-word1875
structural word1884
particule1889
pheme1906
structure word1925
function word1927
operator1938
logical word1940
keneme1950
rheme1953
functor1958
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > inflection > [noun] > word serving function of inflection
form-word1875
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. ii. 21 The auxiliary apparatus of inflections and form-words.
1889 Cent. Dict. Formword,..a word showing relation only or chiefly; an independent word performing an office such as in other languages..is performed by the formative parts of words.
1892 H. Sweet New Eng. Gram. I. 22 We call such words as the and is form-words, because they are words in form only. When a form-word is entirely devoid of meaning, we may call it an empty word, as opposed to full words such as earth and round.
1937–8 Proc. Aristotelian Soc. 38 196 Such form-words as all, some, this, not, and and implies.
1964 Eng. Stud. 45 241 Such formwords as thou, yon(der, and there.
1967 R. A. Waldron Sense & Sense Devel. ii. 45 Even individual words like and, but, or,..(which are variously known as function words, form words, operators, functors, or kenemes)..are defined grammatically rather than, or as well as, lexically.
formwork n. timber, steel, etc. made up into a form or set of forms for concrete (see 18b).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > temporary support for concrete
shuttering1895
form1908
formwork1918
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > concrete > [noun] > material made into mould for concrete
formwork1918
1918 G. A. Hool & N. C. Johnson Concrete Engineers' Handbk. ii. 94 Formwork, of course, should in every case leave the finished concrete true to line and surface.
1943 J. S. Huxley TVA 83 (caption) The arrangement of rough timber formwork into which the concrete is poured.
1962 Engineering 31 Aug. 267/1 A method of using precision-made steel formwork for the placing in situ of structural concrete in room width tunnel sections.
Draft additions 1993
form sheet n. Horse Racing (originally U.S.) a (printed) record of the past performance of a racehorse or racehorses; a form book; also transferred, any past record, esp. of criminal convictions.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > [noun] > other types of written record
criminal record1687
police record1773
office copy1776
geological record1811
time card1837
phylactery1855
reservation1884
press cutting1888
record1897
trace1898
swindle sheet1906
form sheet1911
Dead Sea Scrolls1949
yellow card1970
society > law > rule of law > lawlessness > [noun] > crime > involvement with the police > police record
police record1773
record1897
jacket1910
form sheet1911
form1958
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > equipment > [noun] > printed record of past performance
tissue1866
racing form1895
form sheet1911
1911 G. Ade in N.Y. Times Mag. 17 Sept. 14/3 One day he was in a Pool Room working on the Form Sheet with about 150 other Students.
1971 R. Busby Deadlock vi. 84 He's got two previous for indecent assault and one for flashing on his form sheet.
1983 H. Evans Good Times, Bad Times vi. 120 It was remarked that Thomson hardly had Murdoch's form sheet.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
formv.1
/fɔːm/, U.S. /fɔrm/ 1. absolute.1869 A. W. Ward tr. E. Curtius Hist. Greece II. ii. iv. 74 Here artists had formed in clay from a very early date.† b. To express in formal shape; to formulate; to state formally. Also with up. Obsolete.† e. transitive. To express by form, to ‘body forth’.† f. To agree formally to do something. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To give form or shape to; to put into or reduce to shape; to fashion, mould.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)]
i-schapeOE
shapec1000
afaite?c1225
feigna1300
form1340
deformc1384
proportionc1384
throwc1390
figure?a1400
parec1400
mould1408
fashion1413
portrayc1450
effigure1486
porture1489
moul1530
shapen1535
frame1553
proportionate1555
efform1578
inform1590
formate1599
to shape out1600
infigure1611
figurate1615
immodelize1649
effinge1657
effigiate1660
configure1857
carpenter1884
1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 600 We..No figure of fin gold fourme þer-inne.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost viii. 471 The Rib he formd and fashond with his hands. View more context for this quotation
1744 J. Wesley in J. Wesley & C. Wesley Coll. Psalms & Hymns (new ed.) i. 37 Send down the Spirit of thy Son To form my Heart divine.
1809 J. Roland Amateur of Fencing 64 Return to nearly the same position..but forming the parade with a firm, supple, and precise motion.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > reducing to or expressing in a formula > reduce to or express in a formula [verb (transitive)]
formc1330
conceivec1390
formate1657
formularize1852
formule1852
formulize1859
formulate1860
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 99 Þe bisshop of Parys þe pes þan formed he.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre iv. vi. 66 in Wks. II Hee'll go neare to forme to her what a debauch'd Rascall I am.
1675 T. Brooks Paradice Opened 1 Seven several pleas, that all sincere Christians may form up.
c. To give a specified form to; to mould or fashion into a certain shape, or after, by, from, upon a certain pattern or model; to conform to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > shape or give shape to [verb (transitive)] > put into a certain shape
form1297
figurec1430
shape1457
cast1512
fashion1526
mould1667
set1678
modela1704
throw1804
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 3179 Yfourmed as a dragon ase red ase fur.
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 3781 God louyþ euery creature þat he formed to hys fygure.
c1330 King of Tars 578 Yif Mahoun and Jovin con Make hit iformed aftur mon, With lyf and lymes ariht.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) vii. 25 Þat worme es turned till a fewle perfitely fourmed.
c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Add. MS.) xviii. 332 The soule, sette aboute with vertues, whan god fourmed it to his liknesse.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lxxxiii. 263 By ye lorde that fourmyd me to his semblaunce.
1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer Hist. Lapland 64 Charles..divided the Countrey into several parts, and formed it into better order.
1683 W. Salmon Doron Medicum i. 107 Forme it into Lozenges of what Fashion you please.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 172 A state formed after the model of Crete should..have a character for virtue.
d. intransitive. To shape itself into. Also, †to agree in form, fit with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > have (specific) shape [verb (intransitive)] > agree in form
form1680
the world > space > shape > have (specific) shape [verb (intransitive)] > assume definite shape > specific
mould1612
form1680
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. x. 191 In short time wears the out-side of that Corner to comply and form with the hollow of the Gouge.
1882 School Jrnl. June 455/1 If a cold wind comes sweeping along..and chills this vapor, it forms into great bodies of water-dust clouds, and the sky is overcast.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > physical representation of abstraction > represent physically [verb (transitive)]
representc1400
picturea1530
form1590
embody1741
to body forth1800–24
effigy1815
thing1883
vehiculate1928
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. Proem sig. Bb4 Sith it [sc. Chastity] is shrined in my Soueraines brest, And formd so liuely in each perfect part, That [etc.].
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > agreement > make an agreement with [verb (transitive)] > agree to do
formc1540
condition1613
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10946 There þai fourmyt a fest..Serten dayes by-dene duly to hold.
g.
(a) [after French former (G. Planté 1872, in Compt. Rend. 74 593).] To convert electrolytically the surface of (a positive or †negative plate of a lead-acid accumulator) into its active form by passing a direct current through it in both directions alternately. Also intransitive for passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > produce electromotive force [verb (transitive)] > convert into active form
form1881
1881 S. P. Thompson Storage Electr. 11/2 M. Planté..minutely describes the process of ‘forming’ the cell.
1881 S. P. Thompson Storage Electr. 11/2 The charges may last several hours, and by the end of several months, the cell will be well ‘formed’.
1893 T. O'C. Sloane Standard Electr. Dict. 72 Two lead plates..are ‘formed’, by exposure to an electrolyzing current of electricity in one direction, while they are immersed in dilute sulphuric acid.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 26/2 They required too much time to ‘form’.
1932 A. D. Althouse & C. H. Turnquist Mod. Storage Battery Pract. iii. 73 After the active materials have been pasted into the plates, the plates are formed by a series of charges and discharges.
1964 G. Smith Storage Batteries ii. 23 Planté negatives have been obsolete for many years, and it is modern practice to form Planté positives against plain lead sheets, or ‘dummies’.
(b) To subject (a semiconductor device or some kinds of rectifier) to a relatively large current or voltage in order to produce or modify permanently certain electrical characteristics.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > solid state physics > semiconductivity > introduce charge carriers to [verb (transitive)] > produce or modify characteristics
form1926
1926 [implied in: Physical Rev. 2nd Ser. 27 813 No forming is necessary so the rectifier is immediately operative when the alternating voltage is applied. (at forming n. b)].
1949 Bardeen & Brattain in Physical Rev. 2nd Ser. 75 1210/1 When the two points were connected as emitter and collector, and the collector was electrically formed, transistor action was obtained.
1953 R. A. Harvey Battery Chargers iv. 92 Once the [selenium] rectifier is formed it remains reasonably stable.
1962 L. P. Hunter Handbk. Semiconductor Electronics (ed. 2) viii. 15 A procedure similar to that of forming a point contact can be used to create small-area PN junctions under a metal contact.
2. absolute.1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xv. 371 But if gyle be mayster And flaterere his felawe vnder hym to fourmen.† c. To instigate, persuade. Obsolete.
a. To mould by discipline or education; to train, instruct. Now rare, except with the mind, a faculty, etc. as object. Also reflexive to shape one's conduct, style, etc. on or upon (a model).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > [verb (transitive)]
tighta1000
teec1000
thewc1175
forma1340
informc1350
nurturec1475
train1531
breeda1568
train1600
to lick (a person or thing) into (shape , etc.)1612
scholar1807
educate1826
society > education > teaching > [verb (transitive)]
i-taechec888
lerec900
iwisseOE
to teach a personc1000
wisc1000
ylereOE
avayc1315
readc1330
learna1382
informc1384
beteacha1400
form1399
kena1400
redec1400
indoctrinea1450
instructc1449
ensign1474
doctrine1475
introduct1481
lettera1500
endoctrinec1500
to have (a person) in schooling?1553
lesson1555
tutor1592
orthographize1596
pupil1599
con1612
indoctrinate1621
art1628
doctrinate1631
document1648
verse1672
documentizea1734
form1770
intuit1776
skill1809
indoctrinize1861
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xvii. 29 Þaire maners ere fourmed of samen lifynge.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 105 Thus; form'd for speed he [sc. a horse] challenges the Wind. View more context for this quotation
1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. 140 It seems..natural for a body of slaves..to be form'd by their masters.
1746 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) V. 51 One of Your Royal Blood, form'd upon your Majestie's Example.
1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas v. i On this hint I formed myself.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) II. 715/2 The reward he gave him for forming his son was..honourable.
1778 Earl of Pembroke Mil. Equitation 87 There is a great deal of good sense in Xenophon's method of forming horses for war.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. 2 The most skilful masters..had laboured to form the mind and body of the young prince.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 18 Van Helmont..was formed in the school of Alchemy.
1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & Bks. II. vii. 96 Formed under their auspices, our parrot soon equalled his instructors.
1888 A. Jessopp Coming of Friars iv. 197 Rudely scrawled by some one whose hand is not yet formed.
b. To inform of; also, to instruct. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > [verb (transitive)]
i-taechec888
lerec900
iwisseOE
to teach a personc1000
wisc1000
ylereOE
avayc1315
readc1330
learna1382
informc1384
beteacha1400
form1399
kena1400
redec1400
indoctrinea1450
instructc1449
ensign1474
doctrine1475
introduct1481
lettera1500
endoctrinec1500
to have (a person) in schooling?1553
lesson1555
tutor1592
orthographize1596
pupil1599
con1612
indoctrinate1621
art1628
doctrinate1631
document1648
verse1672
documentizea1734
form1770
intuit1776
skill1809
indoctrinize1861
society > communication > information > action of informing > give (information) [verb (transitive)] > inform (a person)
to teach a person a thingc888
meanOE
wiseOE
sayOE
wittera1225
tellc1225
do to witc1275
let witc1275
let seec1330
inform1384
form1399
lerea1400
to wit (a person) to saya1400
learn1425
advertise1431
givec1449
insense?c1450
instruct1489
ascertain1490
let1490
alighta1500
advert1511
signify1523
reform1535
advise1562
partake1565
resolve1568
to do to ware1594
to let into one's knowledge1596
intellect1599
possess1600
acquainta1616
alighten1615
recommenda1616
intelligence1637
apprise1694
appraise1706
introduce1741
avail1785
prime1791
document1807
to put up1811
to put a person au fait of1828
post1847
to keep (someone) straight1862
monish1866
to put next to1896
to put (one) wise (to)1896
voice1898
in the picture1900
to give (someone) a line on1903
to wise up1905
drum1908
hip1932
to fill (someone) in on1945
clue1948
background1961
to mark a person's card1961
to loop in1994
1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iv. 58 Somme..to þe kyng wente, And fformed him of foos, þat good ffrendis weren.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 71 What may þey do, but..abid til þei be formid wiþ holy writ, how hem is best to do?
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > motivation > persuasion > persuade (a person) [verb (transitive)]
leada1225
accoya1375
form1399
persuadec1450
persuadec1487
practise1524
temper1525
work1532
suade1548
perduce1563
to draw on1567
overdraw1603
possess1607
bring1611
sway1625
tickle1677
tamper1687
to touch up1796
to put the comether on someone1818
1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles i. 107 Þe ffrist þat ȝou fformed to þat ffals dede, He shulde have hadde hongynge on hie on þe fforckis.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8027 How þat faire, by his fader, was fourmet to wende To the grekes.
3.
a. To place in order, arrange. Also, to embody, organize (persons or things) into (a society, system, etc.). Cf. 8a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > arrange [verb (transitive)]
stightc825
fadec1020
orderc1225
adightc1275
dightc1275
castc1320
raila1350
form1362
stightlea1375
rayc1380
informa1382
disposea1387
throwc1390
addressa1393
shifta1400
rengea1425
to set forth?c1450
rule1488
rummage1544
marshalc1547
place1548
suit1552
dispone1558
plat1587
enrange1590
draw1663
range1711
arrange1791
to lay out1848
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (transitive)] > group > into a society, system, etc.
form1667
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. viii. 39 Þat I ne schal sende ȝor soules saaf in-to heuene, And bi-foren þe Face of my Fader fourmen or seetes.
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1101 But setis make yfourmed as thee list.
1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety xv. 360 Our divisions with the Romanists..are thus form'd into an interest.
1700 S. L. tr. C. Schweitzer Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 309 We were commanded..to form ourselves into a Ring.
1772 T. Simes Mil. Guide (1781) 12 The routes must be so formed, that no column cross another on the march.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ii. §6. 93 The Clerks of the Royal Chapel were formed into a body of secretaries.
b. intransitive for reflexive. (Cf. 8b.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > get or fall into arrangement [verb (intransitive)]
marshal1583
arrange1805
form1821
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 44 The noisy rout..Form round the ring superior strength to show.
4.
a. To construct, frame; to make, bring into existence, produce. Const. from, of, out of (the material or elements). Also, to articulate, pronounce (a word, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [verb (transitive)] > construct
workOE
dighta1175
to set upc1275
graitha1300
formc1300
pitchc1330
compoundc1374
to put togethera1387
performc1395
bigc1400
elementc1400
complexion1413
erect1417
framea1450
edifya1464
compose1481
construe1490
to lay together1530
perstruct1547
to piece together1572
condite1578
conflate1583
compile1590
to put together1591
to set together1603
draw1604
build1605
fabric1623
complicate1624
composit1640
constitute1646
compaginate1648
upa1658
complex1659
construct1663
structurate1664
structure1664
confect1677
to put up1699
rig1754
effect1791
structuralize1913
the mind > language > speech > speak, say, or utter [verb (transitive)] > articulate or pronounce
sayOE
shapec1200
formc1300
pronouncec1390
sound1543
prelatea1549
frame1549
articulate1561
annunciate1763
enunciate1767
enounce1829
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 36 God..Formede hire wimman to be born.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. ii. 7 God thanne fourmede man of the slyme of the erthe.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 139 He answerde me bablynge as a childe þat begynneþ to speke but he myȝte formen non worde.
c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Harl.) xlvii. 204 Adam, the whiche was shapin and formide in the felde of Damaske.
?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Avv Whan the worlde, was fourmed and create.
1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 107 Whenne God formed Adam of claye.
1577 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Chron. 75 He made the Goddesse Venus in Alabaster..and of waxe did fourme the whole Island Creta.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Esdras vi. 39 The sound of mans voice was not yet formed . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 570 The liquid Ore he dreind Into fit moulds prepar'd; from which he formd First his own Tooles. View more context for this quotation
1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 151 The oxygen of the oxide of the gold seizes on the hydrogen and forms water.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 294 It had recently been formed out of the cavalry who had returned from Tangier.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxvii. 202 The snow had given way, forming a zigzag fissure across the slope.
1885 Antiquary Sept. 89/1 Henry VIII...was the first English king to form a gallery of pictures.
b. To frame in the mind, conceive (an idea, judgement, opinion, etc.). †Formerly also, to imagine; occasionally to form to oneself (= French se figurer), and with complement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > conceive, form in the mind [verb (transitive)]
readOE
thinkOE
bethinkc1175
makea1400
imaginec1400
conceive?a1425
suppose1586
conceit1591
ideate1610
braina1616
forma1616
engross1632
cogitate1856
conceptualize1873
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
thinkOE
bethinkc1175
devise1340
portraya1375
imagec1390
dreama1393
supposea1393
imaginea1398
conceive?a1425
fantasyc1430
purposea1513
to frame to oneselfa1529
'magine1530
imaginate1541
fancy1551
surmit?1577
surmise1586
conceit?1589
propose1594
ideate1610
project1612
figurea1616
forma1616
to call up1622
propound1634
edify1645
picture1668
create1679
fancify1748
depicture1775
vision1796
to conjure up1819
conjure1820
envisage1836
to dream up1837
visualize1863
envision1921
pre-visualize1969
the mind > attention and judgement > judgement or decision > judge, determine [verb (transitive)] > form a judgement
makea1400
judgea1425
forma1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 45 Could thought, without this obiect Forme such another? View more context for this quotation
1667 R. Allestree Causes Decay Christian Piety xv. 357 The defeat of the secular Design, is commonly the routing those Opinions, which were formed for the promoting it.
1678 J. Dryden All for Love ii. 22 I form'd the danger greater than it was, And, now 'tis near, 'tis lessen'd.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent ii. i. 424 My sad Soul Has form'd a dismal melancholy Scene.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 533. ⁋2 Form to yourself what a persecution this must needs be to a virtuous and chaste mind.
1779 E. Burke Corr. (1844) II. 270 I do not form an estimate of the ideas of the churches of Italy and France from the pulpits of Edinburgh.
1861 M. Pattison in Westm. Rev. Apr. 413 The reader..may form to himself some notion of what [etc.].
1866 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 277 We form no judgments till we have got language.
c. Parliamentary. = constitute v. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [verb (intransitive)] > form a parliament
form1825
1825 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Wks. (1859) I. 11 Many members being assembled, but the House not yet formed.
d. reflexive and intransitive for reflexive.
ΚΠ
1801 R. Southey Thalaba I. i. 25 Three years no cloud had formed.
1853 Ld. Tennyson Sea-fairies (rev. ed.) in Poems (ed. 8) 44 The rainbow forms and flies on the land Over the islands free.
1864 J. Bryce Holy Rom. Empire iv. 49 Very early..had the belief formed itself that [etc.].
1880 T. A. Spalding Elizabethan Demonol. 128 Stop the butter from forming in the churn.
1893 Law Times 95 40/1 A sheet of ice had formed in front of Proctor's house.
5. To develop in oneself, acquire (habits); to enter into (a junction); to contract (an alliance, friendship, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > do habitually [verb (transitive)] > take up (a habit)
fall1541
approach1574
form1736
take1742
to take on1886
the mind > language > speech > agreement > make an agreement with [verb (transitive)] > make conclude or seal (an agreement)
binda1300
smitec1330
takec1330
ratify1357
knitc1400
enter1418
obligea1522
agree1523
conclude1523
strike1544
swap1590
celebrate1592
rate?1611
to strike up1646
form1736
firm1970
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. v. 84 Active Habits are to be formed by Exercise.
1783 Ann. Reg. 1781 Hist. Europe 2/1 The French fleet..formed a junction with the Spaniards at Cadiz.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 634 We..form connexions, but acquire no friend.
1828 I. D'Israeli Comm. Life Charles I II. xii. 309 With the Flemings..our country had from the earliest times formed an uninterrupted intercourse.
1842 E. Bulwer-Lytton Zanoni 22 He formed no friends.
1891 Speaker 2 May 531/1 Those methodical readers, who have formed the useful habit of keeping commonplace books.
6.
a. To be the components or material of; to go to make up, to compose.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > be (part of) [verb (transitive)] > be the or a component(s) of
graitha1300
form1377
makea1393
compone1398
constitute1552
go1559
to make up1589
mould1602
compounda1616
integrate1638
elementate1660
compose1665
represent1776
comprise1794
account1893
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xvii. 169 The fyngres fourmen a ful hande to purtreye or peynten.
1717 tr. A. F. Frézier Voy. South-Sea 48 The Continent, with which it [the island] forms two Passages.
1781 W. Cowper Friendship 14 The requisites that form a friend.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Fire, Famine & Slaughter in Sibylline Leaves Letters four do form his name.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 294 The Life Guards..now form two regiments.
1873 Act 36 & 37 Victoria c. 77. §39 The soil forming such butt or target.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People vi. §2. 275 Yeomen and tradesmen formed the bulk of the insurgents.
1885 Manch. Examiner 15 July 5/2 A common mould fungus..forming a kind of black velvety mass.
b. To serve for, constitute; to make one or part of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > be useful to [verb (transitive)] > have a specific use
servec1300
serve?c1335
servec1392
form1821
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > be (part of) [verb (transitive)]
form1821
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel II. 35 Every molehill forms a seat.
1841 D. Brewster Martyrs of Sci. i. vi. 112 His eminent pupil Viviani formed one of his family.
1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 84 The volume of the canons which had formed the object of his study.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) III. xi. 59 A realm of which Northumberland constitutionally formed a part.
c. With mixture of sense 2: To render fit for.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > training > train [verb (transitive)]
to teach of1297
exercec1374
informc1384
schoolc1456
break1474
instruct1510
nuzzle1519
train1531
train1542
frame1547
experience?c1550
to trade up1556
disciplinea1586
disciple1596
nursle1596
accommodate1640
educate1643
model1665
form1711
to break in1785
scholar1807
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 49. ⁋3 These are the Men formed for Society.
1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. (1778) I. ii. 84 All these qualities formed him for command.
7. Grammar.
a. To construct (a new word) by derivation, composition, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > word-formation > form words [verb (transitive)] > derive
form1795
1795 L. Murray Eng. Gram. 148 Dissyllables formed by prefixing a syllable to the radical word.
b. Of a word or word-stem: To have (a case, tense, etc.) expressed by a specified inflection.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > inflection > inflect [verb (transitive)] > express by inflection
form1872
1872 R. Morris Hist. Outl. Eng. Accidence xiii. 168 The verbs of the strong conjugation form the past tense by a change of the root-vowel.
8. Military and Navy.
a. To draw up (troops, etc.) in order. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [verb (transitive)] > draw up (troops)
raya1387
impale1553
to draw out1587
body1603
to draw up1608
re-form1753
form1816
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > [verb (transitive)] > draw up (troops) > in battle array
setc1275
host1297
ordainc1300
devisec1325
battle1330
arraya1375
stuffc1390
addressa1393
embattle1393
fit?a1400
stedilla1400
fewterc1440
to pitch (also set) a fielda1500
order1509
pitcha1513
deraign1528
marshal1543
re-embattle1590
size1802
form1816
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1725) 115 Walter Spek ros on hand, þe folk to forme & taile.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 6334 The fourthe batell in feld, he fourmet to leng With Archelaus.]
1816 M. Keating Trav. (1817) II. 5 The troops mount, and, the whole being formed, move off the ground.
1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. ii. 56 The left files to be formed up, and sit at ease, while the right files canter.
1838–42 T. Arnold Hist. Rome III. xliii. 78 Hannibal..forming his men as fast as they landed, led them instantly to the charge.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 69 For there was none to form their ranks for fight.
1893 W. Forbes-Mitchell Reminisc. Great Mutiny 41 We were then formed up and served with some rations.
b. reflexive and intransitive. Of troops, ships, etc.: To arrange themselves in or assume some particular disposition or formation, according to prescribed rules. Also with up. to form on (some other body): see quot. 1802.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)]
form1723
re-form1761
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form (line, column, etc.) [verb (transitive)] > stand in line with
cover1796
to form on1799
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 279 Our Army form'd immediately.
1736 T. Lediard Life Marlborough II. 494 The first Squadrons..had much ado to form themselves.
1795 Ld. Nelson 10 Mar. in Dispatches & Lett. (1845) II. 11 The Admiral made the signal to form in the Order of Battle.
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 102 They will at once form up.
1799 G. Harris in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 119 The right wing of the army under my command formed on the picquets of the right.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. To Form on, is to advance forward, so as to connect yourself with any given object of formation, and to lengthen the line.
1803 G. Lake in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 405 The infantry formed in two columns.
1832 H. Martineau Hill & Valley viii. 126 The soldiers formed themselves round the waggon.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Riflemen Form! ii Form, Form, Riflemen Form! Ready, be ready to meet the storm!
1883 Army Corps Orders in Standard 22 Mar. 3/3 When the ‘assemble’ sounds both Forces will form up by Brigades.
c. transitive. To arrange themselves in the form of (battalions, a line, etc.). Esp. in the orders form fours! and form two deep!
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form (line, column, etc.) [verb (transitive)]
rank1573
form1772
1772 T. Simes Mil. Guide (1781) 12 The companies will..form battalions as they advance to the head of the line, and then halt.
1796 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry 200 The whole are ordered to halt, with an intention of forming line in the new direction.
1797 Instr. & Regulations Cavalry (rev. ed.) App. 239 Form open column of divisions behind the right.
1870 W. D. Malton Sinnott's Catech. (ed. 18) §45. 121 The companies that will form the side faces will form fours in the required direction.
1889 Infantry Drill 154 On the words Form Two-Deep, the original rear-rank men will take one pace to the rear.
1915 ‘I. Hay’ First Hundred Thousand i ‘Squoad—'Shun! Move to the right in fours. Forrm—fourrrs!’..‘On the command “form fours”, odd numbers will stand fast.’..‘Forrm—two deep!’
d. to form the siege (of a place) [French former un siège] : to commence active siege-operations (against it).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > action or state of siege or blockade > besiege or blockade [verb (transitive)]
belieOE
besita1100
beset?c1225
assiege1297
besiege1297
belayc1320
umsiegea1325
ensiegec1380
environa1382
to set before1382
siege1390
forset?a1400
foldc1400
setc1400
to lay siege to, unto, about, against, beforec1449
oppugn?a1475
pursue1488
obsess1503
ferma1522
gird1548
begird1589
beleaguer1590
block1591
invest1591
intermure1606
blockade1684
to lay blockade to1713
leaguer1720
to form the siege1776
cerne1857
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xi. 218 The siege of that great city was immediately formed.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. at Siege To form the Siege, or lay Siege to a place..there must be an army sufficient to furnish five or six reliefs for the trenches, pioneers, guards, convoys, escorts, &c. and artillery, with all the apparatus thereto belonging; magazines, etc.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xviii. 155 The whole army now drew near; the siege was formed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
formv.2
/fɔːm/, U.S. /fɔrm/ intransitive. Of a hare: To take to her form; to seat.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [verb (intransitive)] > occupy lair
shoulderc1486
form1575
seat1596
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie lviii. 162 To looke about hir, & to choose out a place to forme in.
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ii. 28 The melancholie Hare is form'd in brakes and briers.
a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd ii. viii. 4 in Wks. (1640) III First, think which way shee fourmeth, on what wind: Or North, or South. View more context for this quotation
1725 J. Coats New Dict. Heraldry (rev. ed.) Seateth or Formeth are the Terms that note where the Hare has its resting Place.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod i. i. 17 A hare [was said to be] formed, a rabbit set.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
> see also
also refers to : form-comb. form1
also refers to : -formcomb. form2
also refers to : -formcomb. form3
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n.?c1225v.11297
v.21575see also
- rabbiter
- rabbiters
- rabbitfaced
- rabbitfancier
- rabbitfarming
- rabbitfish
- rabbithaunted
- rabbithawk
- rabbithearted
- rabbithunting
- rabbiting
- rabbitish
- rabbitkeeper
- rabbitlike
- rabbitmanagement
- rabbitmoth
- rabbitmouth sucker
- rabbitmouthed
- rabbitnet
- rabbitnibbled
- rabbito
- rabbito man
- rabbitproof
- rabbitproof fence
- rabbitpunch