Form

[Fr. forme; Lat. form a: Gr. morphe; O. Ger. frumjan, to make; probably allied to Heb. bar a, to cut, to carve, to form, to produce.] The manner and mould in which anything is presented to our ideas of conception; mould; contour; external appearance of a body; the conformation or make; manner of arranging particulars; disposition of particular things; model; draught; pattern.-Beauty; elegance; splendor; dignity.-Regularity; method; order. (Phys. and Fine Arts .) The shape and external appearance of a body; the figure of the same as defined by angles or lines, or that manner of presenting itself to the eye peculiar to different bodies; as, the form of a circle, the form of a square, the form of the human body. (Law.) A rule to be observed in legal proceedings. -A prescribed or settled mode; a stated method; established practice; system; as, forms of rhetoric, forms of government, logical form , forms of prayer, . -Empty show; semblance; ceremony; formality; as, a mere matter of form . - Likene ; image; manner. "By form of laws condemned to die."-Dryden. "She was a form of life and light, That, seen, became a part of sight."- Byron . (Print.) An a emblage of types, composed and arranged in order, disposed into pages or columns, and locked up in a chase ready for the pre . -A long seat without a back. - A cla ; a rank of students. (Dryden.) - The seat or bed of a hare. v. a. [Fr. former; Lat. formo , from form a .] To make or cause to exist; to shape, fashion, frame, or mould; to create; to construct; to plan; to scheme; to modify; to arrange; to combine in a particular manner; to contrive; to invent; to make up; to settle by deductions of reason, as an opinion; to model by instruction and discipline, as one's character; to combine; to establish'; to compile; to constitute; to enact; to ordain. v. n. To take form. For'malism, u. Quality of being formal; formality. For'malist, n. [Fr. formal i ste .] One who observes forms; one who esteems the form of a thing more than the thing itself, through narrow-mindedne . Formality, n. [Fr. formal ité , from L. Lat. formal it as .] Quality of being formal; the practice or observance of forms; ceremony; mere conformity to customary modes; established order; rule of proceeding; mode; method; order; decorum to be observed; customary mode of behavior; conventional rule.