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Definition: Formal |
FormalAdjective1. Being in accord with established forms and conventions and requirements (as e.g. of formal dress); "pay one's formal respects"; "formal dress"; "a formal ball"; "the requirement was only formal and often ignored"; "a formal education". 2. Characteristic of or befitting a person in authority; "formal duties"; "an official banquet". 3. (of spoken and written language) adhering to traditional standards of correctness and without casual, contracted, and colloquial forms; "the paper was written in formal English". 4. (fine arts) represented in simplified or symbolic form. 5. Logically deductive; "formal proof". 6. Refined or imposing in manner or appearance; befitting a royal court; "a courtly gentleman". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "formal" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Etymology: Formal \Form"al\ (f[^o]rm"al), adjective. [Latin formalis: compare to French formel.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Computing | FORMAL 1. FORmula MAnipulation Language. An early Fortran extension for symbolic mathematics. ["FORMAL, A Formula Manipulation Language", C.K. Mesztenyi, Computer Note CN-1, CS Dept, U Maryland (Jan 1971)]. 2. A data manipulation language for nonprogrammers from IBM LASC. ["FORMAL: A Forms-Oriented and Visual-Directed Application System", N.C. Shu, IEEE Computer 18(8):38-49 (1985)]. (1994-12-06). Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing. |
Multilingual Slang | French (BCBG). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Formal - relating to form.For example, formal logic reasons about an argument based only on the form and not on the meaning.
The conclusion follows from propositional logic. We can see the soundness of this argument by substituting in symbols to make the form clear.
- If
- Socrates is a man
- and
- all men are mortal,
- then Socrates is mortal
- If
- S is a P
- and
- all P are M,
- then S is M
Other Examples
- Formal verification works in a formal language to attempt to prove formal properties hold for a formal specification of a formal system
- Formal power series extend the notion of a power series by removing the requirement for convergence. Thus they have the same form as a power series, but their more abstract interpretation, not implying a meaningful sum of the series, can be applied more generally.
- Formal grammar - Formal set theory
- Formal occasions such as a formal dinner party or high tea might require one to wear formal attire such as an evening gown or tuxedo.
- In British English, the formal is the same as the event referred to by American English speakers as the prom.
Compare with
- Informal -- Casual -- Intuitive
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Formal."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In mathematics, logic and computer science, a formal language is a set of finite-length words (or "strings") over some finite alphabet. Note that we can talk about formal language in many contexts (scientific, legal and so on), meaning a mode of expression more careful and accurate than everyday speech. Use of a particular formal language in the sense intended here is an 'ultimate' version of that usage: formal enough to be used in written form for automatic computation, is a possible criterion.
A typical alphabet would be {a, b}, a typical string over that alphabet would be "ababba", and a typical language over that alphabet containing that string would be the set of all strings which contain the same number of a's as b's. The empty word is allowed and is usually denoted by e, ε or λ. Note that while the alphabet is a finite set and every string has finite length, a language may very well have infinitely many member strings.
Some examples of formal languages:
A formal language can be specified in a great variety of ways, such as:
- the set of all words over {a, b},
- the set { an | n is a prime number },
- the set of syntactically correct programs in some programming language, or
- the set of inputs upon which a certain Turing machine halts.
Several operations can be used to produce new languages from given ones. Suppose L1 and L2 are languages over some common alphabet.
- Strings produced by some formal grammar (see Chomsky hierarchy)
- Strings produced by a regular expression
- Strings accepted by some automaton, such as a Turing machine or finite state automaton
- From a set of related YES/NO questions those ones for which the answer is YES, see decision problem
A typical question asked about a formal language is how difficult it is to decide whether a given word belongs to the language. This is the domain of computability theory and complexity theory.
- The concatenation L1L2 consists of all strings of the form vw where v is a string from L1 and w is a string from L2.
- The intersection of L1 and L2 consists of all strings which are contained in L1 and also in L2.
- The union of L1 and L2 consists of all strings which are contained in L1 or in L2.
- The complement of the language L1 consists of all strings over the alphabet which are not contained in L1.
- The right quotient L1/L2 of L1 by L2 consists of all strings v for which there exists a string w in L2 such that vw is in L1.
- The Kleene star L1* consists of all strings which can be written in the form w1w2...wn with strings wi in L1 and n ≥ 0. Note that this includes the empty string ε because n = 0 is allowed.
- The reverse L1R contains the reversed versions of all the strings in L1.
- The shuffle of L1 and L2 consists of all strings which can be written in the form v1w1v2w2...vnwn where n ≥ 1 and v1,...,vn are strings such that the concatenation v1...vn is in L1 and w1,...,wn are strings such that w1...wn is in L2.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Formal language."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Formal social control of behaviors include things such as laws and codes that a society abides by. These are usually enforced more regularly than informal social control and those that do not abide by these guidelines are usually punished directly.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Formal social control."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Scientific classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. Modern classification has its roots in the system of Carl Linnaeus, who grouped species according to shared physical characteristics. These groupings have been revised since Linnaeus to improve consistency with the Darwinian principle of common descent. Genomic DNA analysis has driven many recent revisions and is likely to continue to do so. Scientific classification belongs to the science of taxonomy or biological systematics.
Early Systems
The earliest known system of classifying forms of life comes from the Greek philosopher Aristotle.
The next major advance in developing scientific classification was by the Swiss professor, Conrad Gessner (1516 - 1565). Gessner's work was a critical compilation of life known at the time.
The exploration of parts of the New World next brought to hand descriptions and specimens of many novel forms of animal life. In the latter part of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th careful study of animals commenced, which, directed first to familiar kinds, was gradually extended until it formed a sufficient body of knowledge to serve as an anatomical basis for classification. Advances in using this knowledge to classify living beings bears a debt to the research of medical anatomists, such as Fabricius (1537 - 1619), Severinus (1580 - 1656), William Harvey (1578 - 1657), and Tyson (1649 - 1708). Advances in classification due to the work of entomologists and the first microscopists is due to the research of people like Marcello Malpighi (1628 - 1694), Jan Swammerdam (1637 - 1680), and Robert Hooke (1635 - 1702).
John Ray (1627 - 1705) was an English naturalist who published important works on plants, animals, and natural theology. His classification of plants in his Historia Plantarum was an important step towards modern taxonomy. Ray rejected the system of dichotomous division by which species were classified according to a pre-conceived, either/or type system, and instead classified plants according to similarities and differences that emerged from observation.
Linnaean taxonomy
Two years after John Ray's death Carolus Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) was born. His great work, the Systema Naturae, ran through twelve editions during his lifetime (1st ed. 1735). He is best known for his introduction of a method of modern classification; he created systematic zoology and botany in their present form. Linnaeus adopted Ray's conception of species, but he made the concept a practical reality by insisting that every species must have a unique Latin binomen, that is, a double name - the first half to be the name of the genus common to several species, and the second half to be a single word, which is called the specific epithet. This convention is now referred to as binomial nomenclature, and the name formed from the two parts is known as the scientific name of a species.
Before Linnaeus, long many-worded names had been used, sometimes with one additional adjective, sometimes with another, so that no true names were fixed and accepted. Linnaeus' system made it easy to identify unambiguously any given species of plant or animal. He proceeded further to introduce into his system a series of groups: genus, order, class.
The Linnaeus System works by placing each organism into a layered hierarchy of groups. Each group at a given layer is composed of a set of groups from the layer directly below. Simply knowing the two-part scientific name makes it possible to determine the other six layers.
The groupings (taxa) of taxonomy from most general to most specific are:
Several acronym mnemonics have been made for these, for instance King Phillip called out for good soup, or Kings Play Chess On Funny Green Squares.
- Kingdom
- Phylum (animals) or Division (plants)
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Intermediate ranks may be created by adding prefixes, for instance:
In addition, species are often subdivided into subspecies and other infraspecific categories (see subspecies). The term varieties is sometimes used in place of subspecies. In horticulture, for example, it refers to populations modified by selective breeding, for instance the Peace Rose, a hybrid Tea Rose.
- Superorder
- Order
- Suborder
- Infraorder
In husbandry, horticulture and other activities outside scientific biology, people still assume the truth of the traditional Linnaean system.
Modern developments
The approach Linnaeus took to classifying species and the majority of his taxonomic groupings remained the standard in biology for at least two centuries. Since the 1960s, however, a trend called cladism or cladistic taxonomy, has emerged and is expected to supplant Linnaean classification. In classifying species, cladists place a priority in achieving coherence with the Darwinian principle of common descent.
Meanwhile, at the top of the hierarchy of classification, there has movement towards a three domain system. The domains originally were replacements for the different kingdoms, but many scientists regard them as a groupings above the formerly paramount kingdom level.
Cladistics
In grouping species, cladists look for "derived similarities," meaning those aspects that species can be expected to share by virtue of a common evolutionary ancestry. This approach differs from that of phenetics, which does not address ancestry and associates species based on overall similarity, and it differs also from classification based on ad hoc "key characters." Cladists avail themselves of all types of information available, including DNA sequences and hybridization studies, biochemistry, and traditional morphology. They often make use of computers to identify the most likely phylogeny or "family tree" that relates the species they are considering.
Cladistics requires taxa (groups of species) to be clades. A formal code of phylogenetic nomenclature, the Phylocode[1], is currently under development for a cladistic taxonomy that abandons the Linnaean structure.
More at: cladistics.
Could add a description of the difficulty in classifying microbes: their features are derived from direct visual observation, but include such procedural characteristics as Gram stain type, motility, ability to form spores, etc. However, given an unknown bacterium with a given set of characteristics, it is in general not possible to predict its phylogeny, toxicity, etc. Other methods, using genes, their DNA, and several types of RNA, are under development.
Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Diptera Family Drosophilidae Genus Drosophila Species melanogaster
Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Mammalia Subclass Eutheria Order Primates Suborder Catarrhini Family Hominidae Genus Homo Species sapiens
Cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata)
Kingdom Plantae Division Magnoliophyta Class Magnoliopsida Order Magnoliales Family Magnoliaceae Genus Magnolia Species acuminata Note in this last example, that most of the taxa are named after the type genus, Magnolia.
Taxon Plants Algae Fungi Animals Division/Phylum -phyta -phyta -mycota Subdivision/Subphylum -phytina -phytina -mycotina Class -opsida -phyceae -mycetes Subclass -idae -phycidae -mycetidae Order -ales -ales -ales Suborder -ineae -ineae -ineae Superfamily -acea -acea -acea -oidea Family -aceae -aceae -aceae -idae Subfamily -oideae -oideae -oideae -inae Tribe -eae -eae -eae -ini Subtribe -inae -inae -inae -ina
See also:
- Binomial nomenclature
- Taxonomy
- List of biological orders
- List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
- Phylogenetic tree
External Links:
- Classification of Animals
- Phylocode - replacing older system with Cladistic system
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Scientific classification."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| FODA | English | Formal specification of ODA document structures | Computer - (ODA, ISO) |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: FormalSynonyms: conventional (adj), courtly (adj), elegant (adj), schematic (adj), stately (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: informal (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Affectation | Stiff, starch, formal, prim, smug, demure, tire a quatre epingles, quakerish, puritanical, prudish, pragmatical, priggish, conceited, coxcomical, foppish, dandified; finical, finikin; mincing, simpering, namby-pamby, sentimental. |
Affirmation | Pronunciative, affirmative, soi-disant; positive; certain; express, explicit; (patent); absolute, emphatic, flat, broad, round, pointed, marked, distinct, decided, confident, trenchant, dogmatic, definitive, formal, solemn, categorical, peremptory; unretracted; predicable. |
Conformity | Typical, normal, nominal, formal; canonical, orthodox, sound, strict, rigid, positive, uncompromising, Procrustean. |
Inelegance | Adjective: inelegant, graceless, ungraceful; harsh, abrupt; dry, stiff, cramped, formal, guinde; forced, labored; artificial, mannered, ponderous; awkward, uncourtly, unpolished; turgid; affected, euphuistic; barbarous, uncouth, grotesque, rude, crude, halting; offensive to ears polite. |
Ostentation | Solemn, stately, majestic, formal, stiff, ceremonious, punctilious, starched. |
Speech | Oration, recitation, delivery, say, speech, lecture, harangue, sermon, tirade, formal speech, peroration; speechifying; soliloquy; allocution; conversation; salutatory : screed: valedictory. |
State | Adjective: conditional, modal, formal; structural, organic. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Formal |
| Specialty definitions using "formal": Formal Description Technique, formal ending, formal long-range planning, formal methods, Formal Object Role Modeling Language, formal probate, formal review, formal verification ♦ Integrated formal approach to industrial software development ♦ WAITER/WAITRESS, FORMAL. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "formal": informal. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Formal" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Albanian (formal, nominal, official, regular), German (formal, formally, technical), Indonesian (formal), Portuguese (academical, formal, modal, outward), Romanian (express, formal, formally, formulary, modal, official, prim, scholastic, solemn, stiff), Spanish (dependable, earnest, formal, positive, punctiliously, reputable, serious, sober minded, sound, staid). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Probably some formal apology for the nice-ass remark would be in order (The American President; writing credit: Aaron Sorkin.) Either I get a formal response to my request for the same lunch allowance as Henry or I shall withdraw my labor (Drop the Dead Donkey; writing credit: Andy Hamilton; Guy Jenkin) This is a very painful moment for me. My own nephew, a criminal! I'll be down to file formal charges in about three minutes (Babes in Toyland; writing credit: Glen MacDonough; Paul Zindel) There's something formal about the point of a pistol (On Her Majesty's Secret Service; writing credit: Richard Maibaum) | |
Lyrics | Learned stickball as a formal education (Keeping The Faith; performing artist: Billy Joel) | |
Clever | Never let formal education get in the way of your learning. (references; author: Mark Twain) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Formal Affair (1991) A Formal Faucett (1978) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals |
| ||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Shows photo of formal portrait, realistic artist rendering of Arthur Canfield Upton, National Cancer Institute director from July 1977 to December 1979. The orginal piece of art hangs in the 11th floor hallway in Building 31 on the National Institute of Health campus. Painting dated 1979. Credit: Betsy Upton (Artist). |  | Shown here is President Richard Nixon signing the National Cancer Act on December 23, 1971. This is a formal setting with a row of senators visible and some other officials and dignitaries. See also AR001123. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer). |
 | WEMS - The Women's Emergency Map Service WEMS started as a joke passed to press that ran national article Although never a formal service, women functioned in many C&GS jobs during war By war's end, there was more truth to WEMS than cartoonist had visualized. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Senior U.S. commanders assembled for the formal ceremonies in which General of the Army Douglas MacArthur returned the Capital city to the Republic of Korea Government, 29 September 1950. Those present are (from left to right, facing camera): Major General Oliver P. Smith, USMC, Commanding General, First Marine Division; Major General David G. Barr, U.S. Army, Commanding General, Seventh Infantry Division; Brigadier General Thomas J. Cushman, USMC, commanding forward echelon, First Marine Air Wing, and Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, USN, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, Far East. Photographed by Sgt. Ed Barnum, USMC. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, Commander, Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet (seated, center) poses with some of his officers at the newly extablished Yokosuka Submarine Base, 2 September 1945, while celebrating Japan's formal surrender earlier that day. Credit: NAVY. |  | Estate, formal garden with circular temple-form garden structure. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Waterfront estate with courtyard, tennis courts, formal garden, kitchen garden, and orchard. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | He walked out from the thick planted grove into what had once been a formal garden. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Elderly couple, in formal attire, dozing while riding the subway] / P. Darlow [i.e., Barlow]. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Formal dedication ceremonies of the Golden Gate International Exposition outside the Federal Building, Feb. 18, 1939. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| "Japanese d'oeuvre" by Sachie Yamazaki Commentary: "Formal style of japanese dinner." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Emily Dickinson | After great pain, a formal feeling comes. The Nerves sit ceremonious, like tombs. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | If her formal adhesions should be required to such conventions or to any of their stipulations, Germany undertakes immediately to give it. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | This Agreement is more effective than many of those which have often been made under formal alliances. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | Then, touching the shoulder of a townsman who stood next to him, he addressed him, in a formal and courteous manner |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | If by chance persons from without present themselves to see a nun whom they have known or loved in the world, a formal negotiation is necessary |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | His soul was not there to hear and greet it and he knew now that the exhortation he had listened to had already fallen into an idle formal tale |
King Richard III | Shakespeare, William | [Aside] Thus, like the formal vice, Iniquity, I moralize two meanings in one word |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Formal research on caregiving, begun in the early 1980's, is still young. (references) | |
After discharge, formal and regular followup contact with the family should be maintained. (references) | ||
Assessing the usefulness of a medical intervention in practice differs from assessing formal efficacy. (references) | ||
Business | Formal greetings can take several minutes. (references) | |
Thus, tendering under open formal procedures is required. (references) | ||
This implies a formal sector unionization rate nearly twice that high. (references) | ||
Children | Dominican Republic | The 1994 Minor's Code requires 8 years of formal education. (references) |
Benin | In some parts of the country, girls receive no formal education. (references) | |
Sierra Leone | A large number of children receive little or no formal education. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Cyprus | All visitors must obtain a formal "TRNC visa" to enter the north. (references) |
Micronesia | Formal associations are uncommon, but organizations for students and women exist. (references) | |
Senegal | Tine was questioned for several hours but no formal charges were made against him. (references) | |
Discrimination | Nicaragua | Few, if any, discrimination suits or formal complaints were filed with government officials. (references) |
Mexico | Human rights groups immediately criticized the statement and lodged a formal complaint with the CNDH. In Jalisco, the state with the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases (estimated at 6,136), activists have created a commission to monitor discriminatory attitudes and promote additional training of medical personnel. (references) | |
Economic History | Liberia | Unemployment: 70% in the formal sector. (references) |
Human Rights | Lebanon | No formal charges were brought against them. (references) |
Chad | Decisions may be appealed to a formal court. (references) | |
India | To date, there has been no formal investigation. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Gabon | Pygmies largely were independent of formal authority, keeping their own traditions, independent communities, and local decision-making structures. (references) |
Guyana | It also prohibits the sale of alcohol to Amerindians and requires government permission before any Amerindian may accept formal employment; however, these provisions are not enforced. (references) | |
Panama | Despite legal protection and formal equality, indigenous people generally endure relatively higher levels of poverty, disease, malnutrition, and illiteracy than the rest of the population. (references) | |
Minorities | Pakistan | Three suspects were arrested; however, no formal charges were filed by year's end. (references) |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | A lack of formal title to land, in some instances, has greatly delayed some assistance projects. (references) | |
Ghana | The dispute was resolved in May 2000 after the Ashanti paramount chief gave formal recognition to the Sika-O-Sika faction's leadership claim. (references) | |
Political Economy | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | Dominican law requires eight years of formal education. (references) |
INDIA | This maximum is generally observed by employers in the formal sector. (references) | |
BOLIVIA | Children are not generally employed in factories or formal businesses. (references) | |
Political Rights | Kuwait | In October various Assembly members proposed formal questioning of four Ministers. (references) |
Andorra | Although progress has been made, and there are no formal barriers, few women have run for office. (references) | |
China | The elected village committees are not part of the formal Government structure and have no formal constitutional role. (references) | |
Trade | Ecuador | Ecuador continues to impose certain formal and informal quantitative restrictions. (references) |
Bolivia | Commercial banks account for over 85% of the deposits and loan portfolio of the formal Bolivian financial system. (references) | |
Ghana | The formal banking institutions have been unable to provide the needed intermediation between savers and investors. (references) | |
Travel | Colombia | Dinner meetings tend to be less formal. (references) |
Philippines | In a formal occasion, seating is arranged. (references) | |
Jamaica | Jamaicans are a little more formal than North Americans. (references) | |
Women | Sri Lanka | Women constitute approximately one-half of the formal work force. (references) |
Gambia | Employment in the formal sector is open to women at the same salary rates as men. (references) | |
United Arab Emirates | However, women sometimes are reluctant to file formal charges for social, cultural, and economic reasons. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Brazil | Collective bargaining is widespread in the formal sector. (references) |
Peru | Labor inspections are primarily conducted in the formal sector. (references) | |
Burundi | Tutsis dominate the formal sector of the economy and the unions. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | TRIAL, n. A formal inquiry designed to prove and put upon record the blameless characters of judges, advocates and jurors. In order to effect this purpose it is necessary to supply a contrast in the person of one who is called the defendant, the prisoner, or the accused. If the contrast is made sufficiently clear this person is made to undergo such an affliction as will give the virtuous gentlemen a comfortable sense of their immunity, added to that of their worth. In our day the accused is usually a human being, or a socialist, but in mediaeval times, animals, fishes, reptiles and insects were brought to trial. A beast that had taken human life, or practiced sorcery, was duly arrested, tried and, if condemned, put to death by the public executioner. Insects ravaging grain fields, orchards or vineyards were cited to appeal by counsel before a civil tribunal, and after testimony, argument and condemnation, if they continued in contumaciam the matter was taken to a high ecclesiastical court, where they were solemnly excommunicated and anathematized. In a street of Toledo, some pigs that had wickedly run between the viceroy's legs, upsetting him, were arrested on a warrant, tried and punished. In Naples and ass was condemned to be burned at the stake, but the sentence appears not to have been executed. D'Addosio relates from the court records many trials of pigs, bulls, horses, cocks, dogs, goats, etc., greatly, it is believed, to the betterment of their conduct and morals. In 1451 a suit was brought against the leeches infesting some ponds about Berne, and the Bishop of Lausanne, instructed by the faculty of Heidelberg University, directed that some of "the aquatic worms" be brought before the local magistracy. This was done and the leeches, both present and absent, were ordered to leave the places that they had infested within three days on pain of incurring "the malediction of God." In the voluminous records of this cause celebre nothing is found to show whether the offenders braved the punishment, or departed forthwith out of that inhospitable jurisdiction. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Washington | 1789-1797 | But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. |
James Madison | 1809-1817 | The measures pursued in behalf of our injured citizens not having obtained justice for them, a further and more formal interposition with the Danish Government is contemplated. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Formal" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.98% of the time. "Formal" is used about 6,430 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 99.98% | 6,429 | 1,507 |
| Unclassified Items | 0.02% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 6,430 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "formal": a formal call ♦ a formal receipt ♦ bring formal charges against ♦ conventional formal schematic ♦ formal agreement ♦ formal betrothal ♦ formal call ♦ Formal cause ♦ formal control ♦ Formal description of arbitrary systems by means of functional languages ♦ formal Description Technique ♦ formal diplomatic ties ♦ formal dress ♦ formal ending ♦ formal garden ♦ formal invitation ♦ formal logic ♦ formal method ♦ formal method of specification ♦ formal methods ♦ formal Object Role Modeling Language ♦ formal occasion ♦ formal parameter ♦ formal probate ♦ formal reasoning ♦ formal reception ♦ formal request ♦ formal requirement ♦ formal review ♦ formal system ♦ formal will ♦ Integrated formal approach to industrial software development ♦ provide with formal education ♦ system of formal logic ♦ use the formal term of address. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "formal": formal-grammar, formal-informal, formal-ity, formal-legalistic, formal-name, formal-stage, formal-summer-outfit-with-hat. | |
Ending with "formal": non-formal. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
formal winter | 2,969 | formal evening gown | 112 |
formal dress | 2,529 | after hours formal wear | 107 |
formal wear | 1,396 | formal hair dos | 106 |
formal hair style | 1,195 | formal prom dress | 97 |
formal | 971 | formal prom hair style | 84 |
semi formal | 537 | formal shoes | 83 |
2003 formal | 521 | formal letter | 80 |
formal spring | 473 | formal girl dress | 75 |
formal gown | 439 | formal wear for woman | 73 |
man formal wear | 242 | formal maternity wear | 70 |
semi formal dress | 189 | formal wear rental | 53 |
formal updos | 185 | formal girl | 51 |
gingiss formal wear | 165 | formal hair updos | 50 |
formal hair style picture | 157 | formal evening wear | 49 |
womens formal wear | 152 | formal dining room furniture | 49 |
formal hair | 152 | formal maternity dress | 46 |
plus size formal wear | 132 | cincinnati bridal formal | 46 |
als formal wear | 129 | formal garden | 44 |
plus size formal dress | 119 | bridal formal | 44 |
child formal wear | 117 | formal attire | 43 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "formal"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | formeel. (various references) | |
Albanian | formal (nominal, official, regular), zyrtar (administrative, ceremonial, ceremonious, donnish, functionary, magistrate, official, officialese, officinal, regular), i rregullt (above board, correct, done, even, frequent, habitual, honest, just, licit, measured, neat, normal, on the level, orderly, regular, right, steady, systematic, systematical, tidy, trig, trim), i rafinuar (dainty, fastidious, polished, refined), i qartë (apparent, articulate, candid, clear, clear-cut, definite, distinct, evident, explicit, express, fair, Frank, in focus, legible, limpid, lucid, luminous, manifest, neat, obvious, open and shut, palpable, patent, perspicuous, plain, readable, self evident, serene, simple, tangible, unambiguous, unequivocal, visible, well-defined, well-marked), i formës, ceremonial (ceremonial, ceremonious). (various references) | |
Arabic | منهجي (methodical, orderly, systematic, tidy), متمسك بالشكليات, عرفي (customary, uruguayan), ذات طابع رسمي, إصطلاحي (conventional, idiomatic), أساسي (absolute, alkaline, basal, base, capital, cardinal, close, constitutional, fundamental, imperative, indispensable, innate, inward, leading, main, major, material, momentous, nub, organic, overriding, paramount, piece de resistance, primal, primary, principal, radical, right, staple, substantial, ultimate, underling), رسمي (authoritative, ceremonial, ceremonious, cocktail dress, dressed, official, picturesque, solemn, starchy, state, stiff), شكلي (distinct, false, logomachy, modal, nominal, pernickety). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | съществен (essential, fundamental, integral, integrant, intimate, intrinsic, material, meaty, radical, substantial, substantive, underlying, vital), формален (nominal, perfunctory, technic, technical), външен (adventitious, adventive, exterior, external, extraneous, extrinsic, foreign, inorganic, ostentatious, outdoor, outer, out-of-door, outside, outward, over, overall, oversea, overseas, showy, surface), вечерна рокля (robe), висок (altisonant, altitude, elevated, eminent, heavy, high, high pitched, lank, large, lofty, long, loud, soaring, strapping), официален (ceremonial, dress, dressy, official, solemn, state), на форма, привиден (colorable, colourable, factitious, fictitious, left handed, ostensible, ostentatious, outward, phantom, put on, seeming, superficial, token), по форма. (various references) | |
Chinese | 正式 (official). (various references) | |
Czech | formální (prim, punctilious, staid), spoleèenský (collective, gregarious, outgoing, sociable, social), slavnostní (ceremonial, dressy, festive, solemn), oficiální (official, statutory), konvenèní (conventional). (various references) | |
Danish | formel logik (formal logic), fastslå,at sagen ikke skal afvises på grund af tilsidesættelse af formforskrifter (declare that the application complies with the formal requirements and is admissible, declare the application admissible notwithstanding the failure to observe the formal requirements), formalregister (formal index), formel beskrivelse af vilkårlige systemer ved hjælp af funktionelle sprog (Formal description of arbitrary systems by means of functional languages), formel kontrol (formal control), formel parameter (dummy argument, dummy parameter, formal parameter, parameter), formel ræsonneren (formal reasoning), formel stemme (formal vote), formelt system (axiomatics, formal system, system of formal logic), fremsættelse af påkrav (formal notice), formelt navn (formal-name), formel inhabilitet (formal ineligibility), METEOR (aerolite, asiderite, brontolith, Integrated formal approach to industrial software development, METEOR, meteoric stone, meteorolith, stony meteorite), afslutningsvending (formal ending), aksiomatisk system (axiomatics, formal system, system of formal logic), anerkendelse af eksamensbeviser,certifikater og andre kvalifikationsbeviser (certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications, recognition of diplomas), anlaegge en sag (to bring a case before a court, to present a plea, to start formal proceedings), de (them, they, thou, ye, you, you formal), dem (them, you, you formal), deres (your, your formal), parameter (parameter), klassisk genetik (classical genetics, formal genetics), åbningsskrivelse (formal notice of complaint, letter of formal notice), integreret formel metode til udvikling af industriprogrammel (Integrated formal approach to industrial software development, METEOR), udtrykkeligt samtykke (formal consent), i (for, in, inside, into, on, per, this, thou, within, ye, you, you formal, you formal plural), enten ved en formel afstemming (resorting to a formal vote). (various references) | |
Dutch | plechtig (ceremonious, measured, solemn, stiff), formeel (centering, centre), ceremonieel (measured, stiff), afgemeten (measured, stiff). (various references) | |
Esperanto | formala, ceremonia (measured, stiff). (various references) | |
Faeroese | formligur. (various references) | |
Farsi | مقیدبه اداب ورسوم اداری , لباس رسمی شب , قراردادی (Arbitrary, Bespoke), تفصیلی , عارضی (Phenomenal), رسمی (Ceremonious, Official, Solemn, Starchy), دارای فکر. (various references) | |
Finnish | muodollinen, kaavamainen (set, stiff). (various references) | |
French | formels, formelle, formel, solennel, régulier, officiel. (various references) | |
Frisian | twang (measured, stiff). (various references) | |
German | formell (formally, official, trig), formal (formally, technical). (various references) | |
Greek | επίσημοσ (authoritative, ceremonial, ceremonious, ministerial, notable, solemn), επίσημος (official), τυπικόσ (ceremonial, ceremonious, conventional, modal, perfunctory, prim, starched, typical). (various references) | |
Hebrew | פורמלי (solemn), רשמי (ceremonial, official), צורתי (formative), צורני (modal). (various references) | |
Hungarian | formai (functional, in form, of form), formális (ceremonious), szabályszerű (legitimate, normal, proper, regular, regulation, stand-up fight, true), hivatalos (academic, bearing an official stamp, breach of trust, hierarchic, hierarchical, official, officiary), előírásos (normative, regulation, set). (various references) | |
Indonesian | formal. (various references) | |
Irish | foirmiúla. (various references) | |
Italian | formale (formally, prim, punctiliously, token). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 窮屈 (constrained, narrow, rigid, stiff, tight, uneasy), 公 (companion, daimyo, duke, governmental, lord, official, open, prince, public, subordinate). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | せいそく (correct, inhabiting, inhabitting, living, normal, proper, regular, systematic), ようしき (form, pattern, style, Western style), よそよそしい (cold, distant), あらたまった (ceremonious), ごうしき (categorical, regular, valid), かたどおり, かたくるしい (ceremonious, stiff, strict), けいしきてき, せいき (animation, century, Christian era, consciousness, era, essence, established, genital, happen, legal, legitimate, life, life energy, occurrence, prosperous period, regular, sanity, soberness, spirit, take place, true character, true heart, true spirit, verve, vigor, vitality), ぎれいてき (courteous), ほんしき (in earnest, orthodox), きゅうくつ (constrained, narrow, rigid, stiff, tight, uneasy), しかつめらしい (solemn), しかくしめん (square), フォーマル , おもてだった (official, open, public), おおやけ (governmental, official, open, public), かたぐるしい (ceremonious, stiff, strict). (various references) | |
Korean | 형식 (formalities, formality). (various references) | |
Manx | oayshagh, neulhoobagh (inflexible, intractable, rigid, stiff, unbending, unfaltering), formoil (ceremonious, full dress, stiff), follym (barren, barren as mind, blank, blank as cartridge, disengaged, empty, empty-handed, expressionless, flat, free, hollow, inane, platitudinous, run down, shallow, vacant, vacuous, void, waste, waste in town). (various references) | |
Norwegian | formell. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ormalfay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | formal (academical, modal, outward), explícito (explicit, specific, water-repellent, watertight). (various references) | |
Portuguese Brazilian | você (you, you formal). (various references) | |
Romanian | formalist (ceremonious, formalist, prig, priggish, punctilious), formal (express, formally, formulary, modal, official, prim, scholastic, solemn, stiff), simetric (equable, shapely, symmetric, symmetrical, symmetrically), oficial (approved, authoritative, authorized, ceremonial, coldly, conventional, conventionally, formally, governmental, inspired, legal, official, officially, state, stiffly), geometric (geometric, geometrical, geometrically), expres (express, expressly, fast train, post haste), exact (accurate, accurately, by the square, careful, clean-cut, clipping, clockwork, correct, dead, directly, due, even, exact, exactly, faithful, fitting, flat, for all the world, just, just so, narrow, perfect, precise, precisely, proper, punctual, punctually, regular, right, rigorous, scholarly, sharp, slick, straight, strict, strictly, that's the idea, to a day, to a hair's breadth, true, truly, you've hit it), direct (bluff, bluntly, candidly, categorical, direct, directly, due, fair, first hand, flat, frankly, full, immediate, official, open, openly, outright, plump, straight, straightforward, straightforwardly, straightly, straightway, through), de formã, clar (apparent, apparently, articulate, banner, bright, broad, clean, clear, clear-cut, clearly, comprehensible, decided, definite, distinct, distinctly, evident, explicit, express, fair, flat, Frank, incisive, legible, level headed, lightsome, limpid, lucid, luminous, manifest, marked, obvious, obviously, palpable, patently, pellucid, perspicuous, plain, plainly, precise, pure, serene, simple, sound, tangible, terse, unequivocal, unmistakable), ceremonios (ceremonious, ceremoniously, state, stiff), ceremonial (ceremonial, heraldry, honor, honour), categoric (absolute, absolutely, beyond peradventure, categorical, categorically, clear, curt, decided, decisive, definite, definitely, dogmatic, downright, emphatic, explicit, explicitly, flat, flatly, much, on the dead, peremptorily, peremptory, plump, positive, positively, simply, Square, stiff, unanswerable, unbending, unqualified). (various references) | |
Russian | формальный (ceremonial, pro forma, solemn). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | formalan (technical), zvaničan (established, official), svečan (declamatory, dressy, festal, festive, gala, grave, serious, solemn, state, stately). (various references) | |
Spanish | formal (dependable, earnest, positive, punctiliously, reputable, serious, sober minded, sound, staid). (various references) | |
Swedish | formell (conventional, technical). (various references) | |
Turkish | tuvalet (bathroom, cloakroom, closet, convenience, dress clothes, John, latrine, lav, lavatory, loo, privy, rear, rest room, restroom, retiring room, toilet, washroom, wash-room, water closet), resmi (authorized, ceremonial, ceremonious, certificated, civil, legal, official, regulation, solemn, starchy, state, statutory), muntazam (in good order, neat, regular), kanuna göre, geleneklere göre (customarily), gece elbisesi (cocktail drees, dress clothes, evening dress), düzgün (clear-cut, Dandy, dandyish, fluent, in good trim, ordered, regular, right, shapely, shipshape, slick, smooth, Spruce, Square, straight, trim, unruffled), biçimsel (logistic, pro forma, stylistic). (various references) | |
Turkmen | formal (r), resmi (official). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | формальний (ceremonial, official, technical, token), офіційний (ceremonial, functional, functionary, official, solemn), зовнішній (exterior, external, extrinsic, extrinsical, foreign, out, outboard, outdoor, outer, outlying, out-of-door, outside, outward). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | theo thể thức, theo thủ tục; trang trọng đúng lễ thói, theo nghi thức (solemn), hình thức theo nghi lễ, đúng luật lệ. (various references) | |
Welsh | ffurfiol. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | formalis, sollemnis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "formal": formaldehyde, formaldehydes, formalin, formalins, formalise, formalised, formalises, formalising, formalism, formalisms, formalist, formalistic, formalists, formalities, formality, formalizable, formalization, formalizations, formalize, formalized, formalizer, formalizers, formalizes, formalizing, formally, formalness, formalnesses, formals, formalwear. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "formal": conformal, informal, nonformal, semiformal. (additional references) | |
Words containing "formal": antiformalist, antiformalists, deformalize, deformalized, deformalizes, deformalizing, informalities, informality, informally, paraformaldehyde, paraformaldehydes. (additional references) | |
| |
"Formal" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Dormael, Faimalo, farmall, Farnol, fermal, fermial, Fernald, Firyal, firzal, foral, forall, formala, formale, formaly, Formeau, formel, formely, Formez, Formiello, formily, formul, formvar, formyl, fornax, forza, Fournel, frimbal, froma, Frommel, furcal, furnel, ormal, tormal. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "formal" (pronounced fô"rmul) |
| 6 | f ô" r m u l | informal. |
| 5 | -ô" r m u l | abnormal, normal, paranormal. |
| 3 | -m u l | infinitesimal, abysmal, animal, baptismal, camel, caramel, decimal, dermal, dismal, enamel, endodermal, epidermal, geothermal, Hamal, hydrothermal, isothermal, mammal, maximal, mesodermal, minimal, optimal, pommel, primal, proximal, pummel, thermal, tramel, trammel. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-f-l-m-o-r" | |
-1 letter: flora, foram, molar, moral. | |
-2 letters: farl, farm, faro, flam, foal, foam, fora, form, from, loaf, loam, marl, mola, mora, oral, roam, rolf. | |
-3 letters: arf, arm, far, for, fro, lam, lar, mar, moa, mol, mor, oaf, oar, ora, ram, rom. | |
-4 letters: al, am, ar, fa, la, lo, ma, mo, of, om, or. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-f-l-m-o-r" | |
+1 letter: aliform, femoral, formals, formula, wolfram. | |
+2 letters: flatworm, formable, formalin, formally, formulae, formulas, fumarole, informal, landform, leafworm, planform, platform, wolframs. | |
+3 letters: conformal, falciform, flatworms, foraminal, formalins, formalise, formalism, formalist, formality, formalize, formulaic, formulary, formulate, fumaroles, fumarolic, landforms, leafworms, malformed, mayflower, mycoflora, nonformal, oriflamme, planforms, platforms. | |
+4 letters: deformable, fearsomely, flameproof, flavorsome, foamflower, formalised, formalises, formalisms, formalists, formalized, formalizer, formalizes, formalness, formalwear, formidable, formidably, formulated, formulates, formulator, informally, malefactor, mayflowers, microflora, mycoflorae, mycofloras, oriflammes, reformable, salverform, semiformal, wolframite. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Expressions 16. Expressions: Internet | 17. Translations: Modern 18. Translations: Ancient 19. Abbreviations 20. Acronyms | 21. Derivations 22. Rhymes 23. Anagrams 24. Bibliography |
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