formation

noun
/fɔːˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/UK/fɔɹˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/CA/foːˈmæɪʃ(ə)n/

Etymology

From Middle English formacioun, formation, borrowed from Old French formacion, from Latin fōrmātiō, from fōrmō (“form”, verb); see form as verb. Morphologically form + -ation.

  1. derived from fōrmātiō
  2. derived from formacion
  3. inherited from formacioun

Definitions

  1. The act of assembling a group or structure.

    • Some cloud formation was confirmed and rainfall was observed over some islands.
  2. Something possessing structure or form.

  3. The process during which something comes into being and gains its characteristics.

  4. + 6 more definitions
    1. A grouping of military units or smaller formations under a command, such as a brigade,…

      A grouping of military units or smaller formations under a command, such as a brigade, division, wing, etc.

    2. A layer of rock of common origin.

      • Over a broad region, the color of a formation may change.
    3. An arrangement of moving troops, ships, or aircraft, such as a wedge, line abreast, or…

      An arrangement of moving troops, ships, or aircraft, such as a wedge, line abreast, or echelon. Often "in formation".

    4. An arrangement of players designed to facilitate certain plays.

      • N'Golo Kanté embodies both sides of this, a player whose early scratchiness was soothed with glorious results in the new 3-4-3 formation, allowed simply to be his best, most wonderfully mobile, diligent, destructive self.
    5. The process of influencing or guiding a person to a deeper understanding of a particular…

      The process of influencing or guiding a person to a deeper understanding of a particular vocation.

    6. A structure made of two categories, two functors from the first to the second category,…

      A structure made of two categories, two functors from the first to the second category, and a transformation from one of the functors to the other.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at formation. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01formation02gains03muscle04tissue05woven06fabricated07fabricate08uniting

A definitional loop anchored at formation. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at formation

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA