figure
Etymology
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Etymology
From Middle English figure, borrowed from Old French figure, from Latin figūra, from fingō ("to form, shape, mold, fashion"), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ-.
Pronunciation Nounfigure (plural figures)
- A drawing or diagram conveying information.
- The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body.
- a figure in bronze; a figure cut in marble
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene vii]:
- a coin that bears the figure of an angel
- A person or thing representing a certain consciousness.
- The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person.
- He cut a sorry figure standing there in the rain.
- 1697, Virgil, translated by John Dryden, The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC ↗:
- I made some figure there.
- 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC ↗:
- gentlemen of the best figure in the county
- (obsolete) Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous representation; splendour; show.
- 1729, William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life:
- that he may live in figure and indulgence
- A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body.
- A numeral.
- A number, an amount.
- A shape.
- a geometrical figure, a plane figure, ''a solid figure
- 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC ↗:
- Flowers have all exquisite figures.
- A visible pattern as in wood or cloth.
- The muslin was of a pretty figure.
- Any complex dance moveDance move.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC ↗:
- Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness, […] . It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.
- A figure of speech.
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 20, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC ↗:
- to represent the imagination under the figure of a wing
- (logic) The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.
- (astrology) A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses.
- 1889, Franz Hartmann, The Principles of Astrological Geomancy:
- its quality, like those of all the rest, is determined by its position in the house of the astrological figure
- (music) Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression.
- 1888, George Grove, Beethoven's Nine Symphonies: Analytical Essays:
- Here, Beethoven limits the syncopations and modifications of rhythm which are so prominent in the first and third movements, and employs a rapid, busy, and most melodious figure in the Violins, which is irresistible in its gay and brilliant effect […]
- (music) A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment.
- French: forme, silhouette
- German: Figur
- Italian: figura, fisico
- Portuguese: figura
- Russian: фигу́ра
- Spanish: figura
- French: personnage, figure, personnalité
- German: Gestalt
- Italian: personaggio
- Portuguese: figura
- Russian: фигу́ра
- Spanish: figura
- French: figure, silhouette
- German: Form
- Italian: figura, forma
- Portuguese: figura
- Russian: фигу́ра
- Spanish: figura
- Russian: о́браз
figure (figures, present participle figuring; simple past and past participle figured)
- (chiefly, US) To calculate, to solve a mathematical problem.
- (chiefly, US) To come to understand.
- I can’t figure if he’s telling the truth or lying.
- To think, to assume, to suppose, to reckon.
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act I, scene ii]:
- 1. Gent. Thou art alwayes figuring diseases in me; but
thou art full of error, I am sound.
- 2023, John B. Wright, Fire Scars:
- “I know you figure me for a leftneck fool, correct?”
- (chiefly, US, intransitive) To be reasonable or predictable.
- It figures that somebody like him would be upset about the situation.
- (intransitive) To enter into; to be a part of.
- (transitive) To represent in a picture or drawing.
- (obsolete) To represent by a figure, as to form or mould; to make an image of, either palpable or ideal; also, to fashion into a determinate form; to shape.
- 1709, Matthew Prior, “Henry and Emma. […]”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC ↗, page 245 ↗:
- If love, alas! be pain; the pain I bear, / No thought can figure, and no tongue declare.
- To embellish with design; to adorn with figures.
- c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:
- The vaulty top of heaven / Figured quite o'er with burning meteors.
- (obsolete) To indicate by numerals.
- 1698 , John Dryden, Epitaph of Mary Frampton
- As through a crystal glass the figured hours are seen.
- 1698 , John Dryden, Epitaph of Mary Frampton
- To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize.
- c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act IV, scene i]:
- whose white vestments figure innocence
- (obsolete) To prefigure; to foreshow.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC ↗; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i ↗:
- His loftie browes in foldes, do figure death,
And in their ſmoothneſſe, amitie and life:
- c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act II, scene i]:
- In this the heaven figures some event.
- (music) To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords.
- (music) To embellish.
- French: résoudre
- Italian: calcolare, risolvere
- Portuguese: resolver
- Russian: вычисля́ть
- Spanish: ocurrírsele
- French: comprendre, réaliser
- Portuguese: perceber, compreender
- Russian: сообража́ть
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
