Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Shape |
ShapeNoun1. Any spatial attribute (especially as defined by outline); "he could barely make out their shapes through the smoke". 2. The spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance; "geometry is the mathematical science of shape". 3. Alternative names for the body of a human being; "Leonardo studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak". 4. A concrete representation of an otherwise nebulous concept; "a circle was the embodiment of his concept of life". 5. The visual appearance of something or someone; "the delicate cast of his features". 6. The state of (good) health (especially in the phrases "in condition" or "in shape" or "out of condition" or "out of shape"). 7. A perceptual structure; "the composition presents problems for students of musical form"; "a visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them". Verb1. Shape or influence; give direction to; "experience often determines ability"; "mold public opinion". 2. Make something, usually for a specific function; "She molded the riceballs carefully"; "Form cylinders from the dough"; "shape a figure"; "Work the metal into a sword". 3. Cause to shape or form; "shape a bun"; "shape a ball from the dough". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "shape" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Industry | An assembly of parts containing the space in which the moulding material hardens and takes its form. Source: European Union. (references) |
Statistics | The general form of a distribution, often characterized by its skewness and kurtosis(heavy or light tails relative to a normal distribution). Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A dildo is a penis-shaped device intended for bodily interaction during masturbation or sexual intercourse.Stone dildos have been recovered during archaeological digs. Dildos in one form or another and have likely been present in society throughout history.
What is a dildo
Various authors who have written about sex have their own ideas about exactly what is and is not a dildo. There is general agreement that a nonvibrating device, resembling a penis in shape, size, and overall appearance, is a dildo. Some authorities include vibrating devices. Some might exclude penis prosthetic aids, also sometimes called "extensions." Some might include penis-shaped items clearly designed with vaginal penetration in mind, even if they don't look very penile. Some authorities include devices designed for anal penetration (butt plugs), while others do not.
Materials
Early dildos were made of stone, wood, leather, or pottery. Of these, leather dildos with a fairly solid filler of cotton rag remain popular with some people.
Rubber dildos, usually incorporating a steel spring for stiffness, became available in the 1940s. This was a less than satisfactory arrangement because of the potential for serious injury from cuts from the spring, when the rubber finally cracked and came apart.
Later, PVC dildos with a softer PVC filler became popular. Most of the inexpensive dildos sold today are made this way.
Chrome-plated steel dildos have been made, and have a small following, especially in BDSM circles. They are not particularly comfortable because they do not flex.
In the 1990s, silicone rubber dildos became more popular, a trend that has continued as the price has come down. These are easier to keep clean and do not have the characteristic plasticy aroma of PVC. They were expensive when introduced but are now reasonably priced, making them an excellent choice for the first-time user.
More recently, dildos made of borosilicate glass (Pyrex) have come on the market. They are expensive, and inflexible, but have a following.
Other materials have been used as well.
Uses
Vaginal penetration is the obvious use. Dildos have fetishistic value as well, and some couples use them in other ways, running them over the skin during foreplay for example. If of appropriate sizes, they can be used as gags, or for oral penetration or a sort of artificial fellatio, or for anal penetration.
Dildos are used by people of all genders and sexual orientations, alone or with others.
Safety and health
Some larger dildos are intended for visual appeal only and should not be used for penetration.
Dildos can transmit disease between users in the same way as other forms of sexual contact, and should not be shared among users where this is a concern. This is particularly true for dildos made of porous or micro-porous materials, such as most soft synthetics. On the other hand, smooth stainless steel or Pyrex dildos are easier to clean, non-porous, and can be more easily sanitized, either chemically or by boiling. This is not meant to say that any unprotected dildo should be used by more than one person without being sanitized. An effective remedy is to use a fresh condom on the dildo.
Dildos without a flanged base or other mechanism to control the depth of insertion should not be used anally, because they can be difficult to retrieve without medical assistance.
Variations
There are double-ended dildos of various shapes, intended mainly for use by two women.
There are double dildos, with different-sized shafts pointing in the same direction, used by women to accomplish both anal and vaginal penetration at once.
There are dildos designed to be worn in a harness, sometimes called a strap-on harness or strap-on dildo, or to be worn inside, sometimes with vibrating devices attached externally.
There are inflatable dildos.
Dildoe is an alternate spelling.
See also
- vibrator
- sex toy
- merkin
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Dildo."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Shape of an object can be characterized by basic geometry such as points, line, curves, plane and so on. For an object higher than 2 dimension, one can always reduce the dimension of the shape by considering the shape of a cross-section or a projection.The cross-section of a spherical object, for example, will be circular. More complex shape would, however, generate various curvature depending on the type of cross-section (eg. horizontal, vertical). Because of the variation possible in taking cross-section, the orientation of the object is critical.
The shape does not depend on changes in orientation/direction. However, a mirror image could be called a different shape. Shape may change if the object is scaled differentially. For example, a sphere becomes an ellipsoid when scaled differently in the vertical and horizontal axis. In other words, preserving axis of symmetry is important for preserving shapes.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Shape."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The term shape of the Universe can most usefully refer either to the shape of a comoving spatial section of the Universe (a loose term for this is the shape of space) or more generally, to the shape of the whole of space-time.
The shape of space (a comoving spatial section of the Universe)
Language/Intuition Prerequisites
To understand concepts of the shape of the universe, according to the standard big bang model, the reader should, ideally, first develop his/her intuition of manifolds, and more specifically, of Riemannian manifolds.
However, those definitions are somewhat abstract.
Here is an attempted shortcut to developing that intuition.
The reader's ordinary notions of space and time are likely to be wrong, they are psychological constructions developed from common sense and folk physics. These notions are useful for ordinary living, as they closely approximate reality over distances and times that are at human scales, but this does not make them real.
An easy way to convince yourself that your intuition is wrong in at least one way is to imagine a globe of the Earth with the South Pole at the "top". Does this seem "wrong"? If the North Pole is at the "top", does this seem "right"? How is it possible that somehow "North" is "right" and "South" is "wrong"? It is clear that physically, there should be symmetry between North and South, neither should be favoured. So clearly there is something wrong in your spatial intuition if you have the feeling that a globe with the South Pole at the "top" seems wrong. Try looking at a map of your country/region with South at the top and the effect should be clear.
One way of developing correct intuition is to ignore one's existing intuition and start from scratch, from very simple logic.
The reader should imagine starting off with a very abstract definition of a set, which is more or less just a collection of points, and then adding more and more definitions. These definitions include ways in which the points relate to each other, and eventually include some concepts so that this set has some properties which are like the common notions of a space.
It is then proposed that the reader accept the use of two-dimensional spaces as analogies for real, three-dimensional space, since this way the third dimension of his/her intuition can be used as a psychological tool for imagining different possibilities for two-dimensional spaces. The reader should remember that the use of a dimension for intuition-building does not imply that it has any physical meaning. It is merely one way, among many, of thinking about spaces of different curvature and topology.
Comoving space
Comoving coordinates are necessary for thinking about the shape of the Universe. In comoving coordinates, we can think of the Universe as static, despite the fact that in reality it is expanding. This is simply a useful way of separating geometry (shape) from dynamics (expansion).
Local geometry (curvature) versus global geometry (topology)
Local geometry (curvature)
In simple words, this is the question of whether or not Pythagoras' theorem, is correct, or equivalently, whether or not parallel lines remain equidistant from one another, in the space one is talking about.
If we put Pythagoras' theorem in the form
then:
The first and third of these are relatively easy to imagine with two-dimensional analogies. The first is an infinite flat plane. The third is the surface of an ordinary sphere.
- a flat space (zero curvature) is one for which this is true
- an hyperbolic space (negative curvature) is one for which
- a spherical space (positive curvature) is one for which
Global geometry (topology)
In simple words, this is the question which ignores Pythagoras' theorem.
Three different two-dimensional spaces which are all flat spaces, in all of which Pythagoras' theorem is true, are
Each of these is globally very different.
- an infinite flat plane
- an infinitely long cylinder
- a 2-torus, i.e. a cylinder with two ends which are defined to be stuck to each other ("identified" with each other)
The third is finite in 2-volume, i.e. surface area, but has no edges and Pythagoras' theorem is true everywhere in it.
The Twin paradox leads to a new paradox in the context of the global shape of space. See the external references below for more on this.
What is the shape of space of our Universe?
We know neither the local nor the global shape of space. We do know that the local shape is approximately flat, just like the Earth is approximately flat. We do not yet know the topology of the universe, and maybe never will.
The shape of the whole of space-time
remains to be written
See also Friedman-Robertson-Walker.
External references
Intuition building:
Texts:
- global geometry (topology); requires java (Jeff Weeks' pages)
- Twin paradox - Barrow & Levin
- Twin paradox - Uzan et al
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Shape of the universe."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ( SHAPE) is the central command of NATO military forces in Europe.
Until 1967 it was situated in France, at Fontainebleau near Paris. Following the withdrawal of France from NATO's military command, it was relocated to Mons in Belgium.
One of the most significant events in the history of Allied Command Europe (ACE) was France’s withdrawal from NATO’s integrated military structure. This move forced SHAPE and several other ACE headquarters to leave French territory.
In an eerie reflection of 21st century politics, the divisiveness between France and NATO’s military structure had been brewing for a number of years, as successive French governments had become increasingly incensed with what they perceived to be Anglo-American domination of the command structure and insufficient French influence throughout the command.
In December 1965, French President Charles de Gaulle had just been elected for the second time and France had acquired its own nuclear capability. De Gaulle's efforts to establish a Franco-British–American Security Directorate and gain some French influence over US nuclear weapons based in France had failed, and he hoped to gain a more independent role for France in order to maximise its future global influence and status.
President de Gaulle also disagreed with the United States’ intention to replace the strategy of the so-called Massive Retaliation with Flexible Response because he believed that this meant a weakening of the US commitment to defend Europe with nuclear weapons.
As he became increasingly critical of the developments in NATO, de Gaulle described the military integration practised at SHAPE and its subordinate headquarters as obsolete and said that it was designed to ensure French subordination to US policy.
In February 1966 President de Gaulle stated that the changed world order had "stripped NATO of its justification" for military integration and that France was therefore justified in re-asserting her sovereignty over French territory.
Consequently, all allied forces within France’s borders would have to come under French control by April 1969. Soon afterward, France stated that it was withdrawing from the headquarters of Allied Command Europe and that SHAPE and its subordinate headquarters Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) must leave French territory by April 1967.
The allies were unsuccessful in their efforts to persuade the French government to reconsider, and France then withdrew the vast majority of its military personnel from NATO military headquarters in July 1966.
The other Allies moved quickly to find new hosts for the headquarters that would have to leave France, and they decided to move NATO’s political headquarters from French territory as well.
The Netherlands was selected to host AFCENT, and Belgium became the host nation for both NATO and SHAPE. SACEUR Lemnitzer had hoped that SHAPE could be located near to NATO Headquarters, as had been the case in Paris, but the Belgian authorities decided that SHAPE should be located at least 50 kilometres from Brussels, NATO’s new location, because SHAPE was a major wartime military target.
They also said that SHAPE had to be placed on land already owned by the government in order to limit costs and construction time. The Belgian government then offered Camp Casteau, a 200-hectare Belgian Army summer training camp near Mons, which was an area in serious need of additional economic investment.
To overcome SHAPE’s objections about the distance from Brussels, the Belgian government agreed to build a high-speed motorway connecting Mons and Brussels. In September 1966 NATO agreed that Belgium should host SHAPE at Casteau.
Six and a half months remained before the French deadline for SHAPE to leave France would expire. A massive seven-day-a-week building programme began, co-ordinated between the Belgian central and local authorities, the building consortium and SHAPE. Highest priority was given to building command and control facilities.
SHAPE closed its facility at Rocquencourt near Paris on 30 March 1967, and the next day held a ceremony to mark the opening of the new headquarters at Casteau. SACEUR Lemnitzer called the construction effort "a miracle of achievement" and praised the Belgian authorities and workmen for their efforts to ensure that SHAPE had a new headquarters in a remarkably short time.
The headquarters' new home in Mons, Belgium, was the center of international attention from time to time as new Supreme Allied Commanders came and went, with one of the more notable being General Alexander M. Haig, Jr., who was promoted over numerous ranking officers to become a four-star general immediately following his role as White House Chief of Staff for President Richard M. Nixon. Mons and the surrounding region are the home to a number of important historic events, the significance of many of which were lost of the foreign service personnel who served there.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe."
| 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 |
SHAPE | English | Sub-Project:Safe Handling of Plutonium Compounds | Nuclear Energy & Physics |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: ShapeSynonyms: anatomy (n), bod (n), build (n), cast (n), chassis (n), condition (n), configuration (n), contour (n), embodiment (n), figure (n), flesh (n), frame (n), human body (n), material body (n), pattern (n), physical body (n), physique (n), soma (n), determine (v), forge (v), form (v), influence (v), mold (v), mould (v), regulate (v), work (v). (additional references) |
| Synonym by domain: -form (personal care & hotels, industry). |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Action | Employ oneself, ply one's task; officiate, have in hand; (business); labor; be at work; pursue a course; shape one's course; (conduct). |
Arrangement | Verb: reduce to order, bring into order; introduce order into; rally. arrange, dispose, place, form; put in order, set in order, place in order; set out, collocate, pack, marshal, range, size, rank, group, parcel out, allot, distribute, deal; cast the parts, assign the parts; dispose of, assign places to; assort, sort; sift, riddle; put to rights, set to rights, put into shape, put in trim, put in array; apportion. |
Bad Man | Villain, rascal, scoundrel, miscreant, budmash, caitiff; wretch, reptile, viper, serpent, basilisk, urchin; tiger, monster; devil; (demon); devil incarnate; demon in human shape, Nana Sahib; hellhound, hellcat; rakehell. |
Conduct | Run a race, lead a life, play a game; take a course, adopt a course; steer one's course, shape one's course; play one's paint, play one's cards, shift for oneself; paddle one's own canoe; bail one's own boat. |
Continuance in action | Verb: be converted into; become, get, wax; come to, turn to, turn into, evolve into, develop into; turn out, lapse, shift; run into, fall into, pass into, slide into, glide into, grow into, ripen into, open into, resolve itself into, settle into, merge into, emerge as; melt, grow, come round to, mature, mellow; assume the form of, assume the shape of, assume the state of, assume the nature of, assume the character of; illapse; begin a new phase, assume a new phase, undergo a change. |
Direction | Steer for, steer towards, make for, make towards; aim at, level at; take aim; keep a course, hold a course; be bound for; bend one's steps towards; direct one's course, steer one's course, bend one's course, shape one's course; align one's march, allign one's march; to straight, go straight to the point; march on, march on a point. |
Distortion | Adjective: distorted; Verb: out of shape, irregular, asymmetric, unsymmetric, awry, wry, askew, crooked; not true, not straight; on one side, crump, deformed; harelipped; misshapen, misbegotten; misproportioned, ill proportioned; ill-made; grotesque, monstrous, crooked as a ram's horn; camel backed, hump backed, hunch backed, bunch backed, crook backed; bandy; bandy legged, bow legged; bow kneed, knock kneed; splay footed, club footed; round shouldered; snub nosed; curtailed of one's fair proportions; stumpy; (short); gaunt; (thin); bloated; scalene; simous; taliped, talipedic. |
Evil doer | Monster; fiend; (demon); devil incarnate, demon in human shape; Frankenstein's monster. |
Form | Verb: form, shape, figure, fashion, efform, carve, cut, chisel, hew, cast; rough hew, rough cast; sketch; block out, hammer out; trim; lick into shape, put into shape; model, knead, work up into, set, mold, sculpture; cast, stamp; build; (construct). |
Form, figure, shape; conformation, configuration; make, formation, frame, construction, cut, set, build, trim, cut of one's jib; stamp, type, cast, mold; fashion; contour; (outline); structure; plasmature. | |
Plan | Verb: plan,scheme, design, frame, contrive, project, forecast, sketch; devise, invent; (imagine); set one's wits to work; spring a project; fall upon, hit upon; strike out, chalk out, cut out, lay out, map out; lay down a plan; shape out a course, mark out a course; predetermine; concert, preconcert, preestablish; prepare; hatch, hatch a plot concoct; take steps, take measures. |
Preparation | Roughhew; cut out work; block out, hammer out; lick into shape; (form). |
Pursuit | Tread a path; take a course, hold- a course; shape one's steps, direct one's steps, bend one's steps, course; play a game; fight one's way, elbow one's way; follow up; take to, take up; go in for; ride one's hobby. |
Rotundity | Cone, conoid; pear shape, egg shape, bell shape. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Shape |
| English words defined with "shape": amorphous shape, angular shape ♦ bell shape ♦ change of shape, change shape, concave shape, cone shape, convex shape ♦ distorted shape ♦ funnel shape ♦ good shape ♦ leaf shape ♦ natural shape ♦ poor shape ♦ round shape ♦ shape constancy ♦ To shape one's self ♦ wave shape, wedge shape. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "shape": arrow shape ♦ firing-pulse wave shape ♦ Lick into Shape ♦ shape hand, SHIP SHAPE, swept shape. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "shape": Whipworm. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted (Memento; writing credit: Bo Goldman; Lawrence Hauben) You have been selected as its progenitors, like gods you offspring will return to Earth and shape it in their image (Moonraker; writing credit: Christopher Wood) For the time would soon come when hobbits would shape the fortunes of all. (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; writing credit: Frances Walsh) I like to stay in shape. Thanks (Hot Shots!; writing credit: Jim Abrahams; Pat Proft) The magic chose the shape, not I. I am a bearer, I am a dwelling, I am a messenger (The Last Unicorn; writing credit: Peter S. Beagle) | |
Lyrics | But to show you the shape of my heart (Shape Of My Heart; performing artist: Backstreet Boys) It's time to shape up (Dreamtime; performing artist: Daryl Hall) Into shape (Whip It; performing artist: Devo) It Takes The Shape Of A Place Out West (Wide Open Spaces; performing artist: DIXIE CHICKS) I mean in them jeans your shape is beautiful (Fatty Girl; performing artist: Ludacris) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Shape of Things (2003) Sheep Shape (1946) Shape Ahoy (1945) Keeping In Shape (1942) Ship Shape (1926) | |
Song Titles | Bend Me, Shape Me (performing artist: The American Breed) No Matter What Shape (performing artist: The T-Bones) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
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Periodicals |
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Theater & Movies | |||
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Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Pictured is a breast cancer cell, photographed by a scanning electron microscope, which produces a 3-dimensional images. This picture shows the overall shape of the cell's surface at a very high magnification. Cancer cells are best identified by internal details, but research with a scanning electron microscope can show how cells respond in changing environments and can show mapping distribution of binding sites of hormones and other biological molecules. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | In vitro (tissue culture). Long-term cultured confluent AIDS-KS cells stained with Wright-Gimsa. Note the spindle shape and distribution of the cells in longitudinal fan-like arrays. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |
 | An immature trophozoite of P. vivax is shown at the top of the slide in its characteristic ring shape, while the mature trophozoites contain large ameboid cytoplasms with large chromatin and fine yellowish brown pigment. Credit: CDC. |  | The maximum size of red blood cells infected with Plasmodium vivax ranges between 1.5 - 2 times their normal size. A mature schizont is large and amoeboid in shape. Note the numerous chromatin masses, along with Schuffner’s dots. Credit: CDC. |
 | Identified as submerged atolls on Palawan Bank Note similarity in shape to salt structures in Gulf of Mexico See images "theb.3833.htm" and "theb.3834.htm". Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Lotus plants differ from water lilies in the shape of the leaves and the seed pods. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | The sex of a blue crab is determined by the shape of the "apron". The male apron, shown here, is shaped like a rocket. Females have either a "V" shape (immature) or a very wide apron with a small tip (mature.). Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | The Barter Island Camp starts taking shape after a few days of digging. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Purse seining. Salmon swimming near the surface are surrounded with a wall of netting, which is supported by floats. Lines are then drawn tight in the lower surface of the net to "purse" it into a baglike shape. The fish are then bailed out of the net. F&WL C-1163. Credit: Fisheries. |  | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. South Cape Beach with a new shape following passage of Hurricane Bob. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Strange shape building" by Conrad C. Commentary: "Strange shape building over michigan lake in chicago." | "Flower in sphere vase" by Jason Ho Commentary: "This is an interesting arrangement. A small vase in a shape of a sphere is tied to the top and a flower is placed in the vase. There were many of such vases and flowers, but I just took one." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Baron de Montesquieu | In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of the state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state. |
Doris Lessing | If a fish is the movement of water embodied, given shape, then cat is a diagram and pattern of subtle air. |
Heinrich Heine | Great genius takes shape by contact with another great genius, but, less by assimilation than by fiction. |
Lord Alfred Tennyson | Shape your heart to front the hour, but dream not that the hours will last. |
Napoleon Bonaparte | True heroism consists in being superior to the ills of life, in whatever shape they may challenge us to combat. |
Oscar Wilde | Art, like Nature, has her monsters, things of bestial shape and with hideous voices. |
W. Clement Stone | Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them. |
William Shakespeare | The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape. |
Xenophanes | One god, greatest among dogs and men, similar to mortals neither in shape nor even in thought. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | They do not set up any sectarian principles of their own, by which to shape and mould the proletarian movement. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | The Phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Their prosperity scatters its crumbs to those who are behind the scenes, in the shape of nice little promotions |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | The devil, once a shining angel, a son of the morning, now a foul fiend, came in the shape of a serpent, the subtlest of all the beasts of the field |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | And the hard little pears take shape, and the beginning of the fuzz comes out on the peaches |
Gulliver's Travels | Swift, Jonathan | I described, as well as I could, our way of riding, the shape and use of a bridle, a saddle, a spur, and a whip, of harness and wheels |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | A. Notice the bullet shape of the virus. (references) | |
The first sign is an abnormal head shape. (references) | ||
Some cluster together forming a cauliflower-like shape. (references) | ||
Business | Water pollution is a critical challenge to China as it tries to shape its future. (references) | |
Many of the boxes were bent or out of their original shape, indicating either poor packaging, or poor handling and maintenance. (references) | ||
Several trends, both negative and positive, have emerged in the late 1990's that are likely to shape travel and tourism investment and trade opportunities in South Africa. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | United Kingdom | According to the Education Reform Act of 1988, it forms part of the core curriculum for students in England and Wales (the requirements for Scotland were outlined in the Education Act of 1980.) The shape and content of religious instruction is decided on a local basis. (references) |
Turkmenistan | In October the President published a spiritual and historical guidebook for the nation entitled "Rukhnama." The President is attempting to use these teachings in part to supersede other established religious codes, as well as historical and cultural texts, and thereby shape citizens' religious and cultural behavior. (references) | |
Economic History | Peru | However, it has little power to shape opinions, particularly among Peru's decision-makers. (references) |
Political Economy | Uzbekistan | It meets only a few days each year, and has little power to shape laws. (references) |
VENEZUELA | Extensive participation by U.S. firms in both the supply and operations sectors of the industry is starting to take shape. (references) | |
MALAYSIA | This is an inefficient and expensive process that requires distributors to recut each piece of glass into a rectangular shape once it has cleared customs. (references) | |
Trade | Venezuela | Overall, the banking system is in sound shape although the operating margins remain thin. (references) |
Singapore | The import of a few items such as lighters in the shape of pistols or revolvers and fire crackers is prohibited. (references) | |
Travel | Chad | Chad's internal road network is in poor shape but gradually improving. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | FAIRY, n. A creature, variously fashioned and endowed, that formerly inhabited the meadows and forests. It was nocturnal in its habits, and somewhat addicted to dancing and the theft of children. The fairies are now believed by naturalist to be extinct, though a clergyman of the Church of England saw three near Colchester as lately as 1855, while passing through a park after dining with the lord of the manor. The sight greatly staggered him, and he was so affected that his account of it was incoherent. In the year 1807 a troop of fairies visited a wood near Aix and carried off the daughter of a peasant, who had been seen to enter it with a bundle of clothing. The son of a wealthy bourgeois disappeared about the same time, but afterward returned. He had seen the abduction been in pursuit of the fairies. Justinian Gaux, a writer of the fourteenth century, avers that so great is the fairies' power of transformation that he saw one change itself into two opposing armies and fight a battle with great slaughter, and that the next day, after it had resumed its original shape and gone away, there were seven hundred bodies of the slain which the villagers had to bury. He does not say if any of the wounded recovered. In the time of Henry III, of England, a law was made which prescribed the death penalty for "Kyllynge, wowndynge, or mamynge" a fairy, and it was universally respected. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Mikhail Baryshnikov | Well, I cannot go on stage without keeping myself in shape, you know. When we work, we work six, seven hours, you know. My working day between eight and seven hours. |
Rush Limbaugh | But liberals know their agenda isn't popular enough to win at the ballot box, and the only way they can shape the nation is through activist judges. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
John Quincy Adams | 1825-1829 | To this end it would be necessary, if possible, so to shape its organization as to give it a more united and active energy. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | Every State can not expect to shape the measures of the General Government to suit its own particular interests. |
John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | The choices we make, for good or ill, may well shape the state of the Union for generations yet to come. |
Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | Free Europeans must shape the course of Europe. |
Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | But some stand out as moments of beginning, in which courses are set that shape decades or centuries. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | America is committed to the side of peace and justice and to the principle that Africa should shape its own future, free of outside intervention. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | By definition deterrence requires that we shape Soviet assessments about the risks of war, assessments they will make using their doctrine, not ours. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | It's not just the home but the workplace and community that sustain our values and shape our future. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | We are the nation that can shape the future. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | Let us shape the hope of this day into the noblest chapter in our history. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Shape" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 88.97% of the time. "Shape" is used about 6,116 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 |
| Noun (singular) | 88.97% | 5,441 | 1,799 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 6.88% | 421 | 13,527 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 3.95% | 242 | 19,213 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.13% | 8 | 124,375 |
| Noun (common) | 0.07% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 6,116 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "shape" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Shape | Last name | 130 | 60,338 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "shape": amorphous shape ♦ angular shape ♦ arrow shape ♦ assume a definite shape ♦ be in good shape ♦ be in shape ♦ bell shape ♦ bend a key out of shape ♦ bend into shape ♦ change of shape ♦ change shape ♦ concave shape ♦ cone shape ♦ convex shape ♦ curved shape ♦ demon in human shape ♦ deviation from stated shape ♦ disk shape ♦ distorted shape ♦ egg shape ♦ funnel shape ♦ gaussian shape ♦ geometric shape ♦ Get into shape ♦ get out of shape ♦ give shape ♦ give shape to ♦ giving shape ♦ go out of shape ♦ good shape ♦ hammer smth. into shape ♦ hat shape ♦ in any shape ♦ in good physical shape ♦ in good shape ♦ in poor physical shape ♦ in shape ♦ keep in shape ♦ leaf shape ♦ lick into shape ♦ light shape ♦ lose one's shape ♦ lose shape ♦ make go out of shape ♦ natural shape ♦ net shape processing ♦ of a circular shape ♦ of a rectangular shape ♦ of a square shape ♦ of elegant shape ♦ of the same shape ♦ out of shape ♦ pear shape ♦ polygonal shape ♦ poor shape ♦ pull out of shape ♦ put an article into shape ♦ put out of shape ♦ rectangular pulse shape ♦ round shape ♦ settle into shape ♦ shape a block of stone ♦ shape by cutting ♦ shape constancy ♦ shape of the head ♦ shape one's course ♦ shape the course ♦ shape up ♦ shape up to smb. ♦ shape up well ♦ shape well ♦ streamline shape ♦ structural shape ♦ swept shape ♦ take shape ♦ take shape in ♦ To lick into shape ♦ To shape one's self ♦ To take shape ♦ wave shape ♦ wedge shape. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "shape": shape-changer, shape-changers, shape-changing, shape-concealing, shape-encoded, shape-independent, shape-influenced, shape-note, shape-perception, shape-remembering, shape-selective, shape-shifter, shape-shifters, shape-shifting, shape-similar, shape-similarity, shape-specific, shape-specificity, shape-up, shape-up, shape-wise. | |
Ending with "shape": c-shape, l-shape, pre-shape, re-shape, shell-shape, v-shape. | |
| 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 |
shape | 1,785 | breast shape | 49 |
shape magazine | 1,335 | dream shape | 48 |
geometric shape | 265 | pool shape | 48 |
heart shape | 216 | photo shape shop | 45 |
in shape | 196 | steel shape | 45 |
face hair shape style | 158 | cut face hair shape | 43 |
face shape | 146 | shape fitness | 43 |
eyebrow shape | 141 | clinique shape.com | 43 |
body shape | 134 | pentagon shape | 42 |
star shape | 132 | visio shape | 41 |
shape of things | 129 | shape memory alloy | 38 |
get in shape | 105 | heart lyrics shape | 37 |
in matlab numbering shape | 76 | picture shape | 37 |
geometry shape | 71 | pasta shape | 35 |
poem shape | 64 | geometrical shape | 34 |
diamond shape | 59 | math shape | 33 |
escape your shape | 56 | hexagon shape | 32 |
liberator shape | 53 | great shape | 32 |
3d shape | 52 | die cut shape | 31 |
penis shape | 52 | shape total fitness | 30 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "shape"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | vorm (blank, form), gedaante (form). (various references) | |
Albanian | soj (family, kin, kind, persuasion, relative, sort, species, stock, type), merr formë (jell), formë (appearance, cast, figuration, figure, form, format, frame, make, matrix, mode, Mold, mould, state), formohem (be formed, be molded, be moulded, be shaped, develop, form, grow up, take shape), formoj (constitute, construct, create, form, found, make, make up, Mold, mould, organize), gdhend (adz, adze, carve, chase, chisel, die, enchase, engrave, gouge, incise, inscribe, intaglio, Nick, polish, rasp, refine, sculp, sculpt, sculpture, shave), gjendje (circumstance, circumstances, condition, fettle, form, medium, milieu, Nick, pass, picture, position, posture, rating, situation, state, status, the right, way), jap formë (frame, give shape), kallëp (bar, block, cake, form, frame, ingot, last, Mold, mould, pattern, stamp), farkëtoj (beat, forge, Smith), lloj (assortment, brand, brood, cast, class, description, form, genre, kidney, kind, nature, persuasion, race, rate, sort, species, stamp, stock, style, type, variety), zë vend (locate, seat, settle down, take on, take place, take seats), model (cast, classic, classical, copybook, example, exemplar, fashion, figure, make, model, Mold, mould, norm, paradigm, paragon, pattern, pilot, sample, sampler, style, type), modeloj (frame, model, pattern), përshtatem (adapt oneself, adjust, agree, conform, fit in, humor, humour, respond), pamje (air, aspect, face, landscape, likeness, look, make, mien, mode, outlook, outside, physiognomy, presence, prospect, rig, scene, scenery, semblance, sight, spectacle, view, visage, vista), rregull (cleanliness, cosmos, discipline, institution, law, method, neatness, nomocracy, order, orderliness, precept, procedure, regularity, regulation, right, rights, rule, tidiness), rregulloj (accommodate, adjust, amend, arrange, attemper, clear up, compose, contrive, control, correct, debug, dispose, dispose of, do, fix up, model, modulate, order, patch up, rate, readjust, redress, regularize, regulate, repair, set right, set the tune, settle, Spruce, straighten, tidy up, trim), trajtë (configuration, contraction, figuration, form, frame, line, make, turn, uniform), krijoj (brew, compose, conceive, contract, create, develop, erect, establish, forge, form, found, institute, make, originate, pen, procreate, produce, raise, sow, transact). (various references) | |
Arabic | تقدم (advance, advanced, advancement, advantage, antecedence, ascent, break through, career, careerist, come on, crowd, descend, development, evolution, forge ahead, forward, gain ground, gain one's destination, get along, get forward, get on, get up, go ahead, go up, going, head, headway, improvement, keep step, lead, make up on, march, move along, move in, onward, precede, priority, proceed, procession, progress, progression, promotion, propulsion, pull ahead, rise, seniority, shoot ahead, speed, stem, step, superiority, take steps, upturn, way, work up to), شكل (accentuate, boil, cast, categorize, comprise, constitute, dot, fashion, form, formalize, format, frame, guise, likeness, make, modality, mode, model, mold, mould, punctuate, put together, semblance, sort, style, trace, vocalize, way), رتب (arrange, clean, collocate, construct, corral, dispose, do, form, hierarchy, lash up, line, marshal, ordain, order, pack, pigeonhole, plume, put in order, put things straight, range, rate, set, sort, spruce up, stow, straighten, tidy, trim), جسد (body, bone, bulk, corpus, embody, externalize, frame, impersonate, incarnate, incorporate, materialize, model, mold, mould, personate, personify, reify, substantiate), خيال (conceit, fantasy, fiction, ghost, illusion, imagination, phantasy, shade, shadow, silhouette, spectrum, spook, wraith), صاغ (coin, draw up, fashion, forge, frame, model, mold, mould, put, redact, reduplicate, state), صيغة (form, formula, formularization, mode), ضرب أو نوع (nature), تشكل (brew, compose, form, formation, take shape), شبح (apparition, bogey, evil spirit, ghost, gremlin, idol, phantom, shade, shadow, spectre, spectrum, spirit, spook, sprite, wraith), تطور (blossom, break through, breakthrough, development, evolution, growth, work out), صورة (figure, picture), حالة (case, circumstance, condition, conjuncture, drama, estate, event, feather, fettle, incident, job, manner, nick, occurrence, phase, picture, place, plight, pose, position, posture, rate, situation, state, status, trim, way, weather, whack), غير (beyond, budge, but, change, commute, fashion, masquerade, metamorphose, mis, modify, modulate, non, overrun, rehash, renew, reverse, revise, shift, switch, switch over, than, transfer, transpose, turn, un-), قالب (briquette, form, matrix, model, mold, molding, mould, moulding, template), قيادة قوات التحالف, نظام (arrangement, array, bylaw, cosmos, discipline, framework, limitation, measure, method, order, orderliness, organism, organization, prescript, rank, regulation, setup, system), نظم (adjust, arrange, array, bed, cast, code, codify, collocate, compose, construct, control, dispose, fix, form, groom, lay, line, marshal, mastermind, measure, order, organize, plan, poetize, put in order, put things straight, reform, regiment, regulate, regulation, right, seed, settle, shuffle, sort, spruce up, stage, streamline, systematize, verse), هيئة (appearance, aspect, body, cast, face, feature, form, framework, guise, make, organism, organization, staff, touch), مظهر (air, appearance, aspect, exhibitory, exterior, face, figure, form, guise, look, manifestation, mien, phase, presentation, semblance, show, showing, visage), كيف (accommodate, adapt, adjust, condition, conform, fashion, however, suit, whereby), تجسد (embodiment, incarnation, materialization, materialize). (various references) | |
Basque | tankera (form). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | облик, извадено от форма желе, придобивам форма (take shape), призрак (appearance, bogy, eidolon, ghost, phantasm, phantom, shade, shadow, spectre, spirit, spook, vision, wraith), привидение (boggard, eidolon, fetch, ghost, phantasm, phantom, shade, spectre, vision, visitant), приспособявам (accommodate, adapt, adjust, conform, fashion, frame, gear, modulate, readjust, suit, tailor, tune), профил (contour, cross section, cutout, profile, section, side, side face, side view, silhouette), модел (creation, example, make, mirror, model, mould, pattern, sample, sitter, style, type), моделирам (model, mould), нагласям (adapt, adjust, doctor, pose, posture, tune), давам форма, неясна фигура, състояние (capital, case, condition, fettle, fig, fortune, means, pile, plight, position, posture, repair, state, substance, train, way), образец (copy, epitome, example, exemplar, form, ideal, mirror, model, mould, norm, paradigm, paragon, pattern, piece, sample, sampling, scantling, specimen, swatch, type), оформявам (fashion, form, formalize, frame, hammer, jell, mould), оформявам се (develop, form, shape up), очертание (adumbration, conformation, contour, cutout, delineation, form, line, lineament, outline, silhouette), вид (air, appearance, aspect, blush, breed, cast, clan, class, complexion, demeanor, demeanour, description, form, genre, genus, grade, guise, kidney, kind, likeness, look, manner, mien, mode, nature, order, persuasion, presence, race, show, similitude, sort, species, strain, stripe, style, taxon, type, variety, view), калъп (brick, tablet), кроя (cut, cut out, meditate), форма (build, conformation, figuration, form, frame, manner, matrix, medium, mode, mould, turn, uniform), ред (arrangement, cast, course, discipline, inning, kilter, method, order, orderliness, placement, rank, row, run, sequence, series, set, taxis, tier, train, turn, variety), смътна фигура, насочвам (aim, bring round, fasten, guide, launch, lay, level, point at, present, refer, ride at, set, set on, sight, steer). (various references) | |
Chinese | 象 (appearance, elephant, form, to be like, to resemble, to seem, to take after), 型狀 , 樣 (appearance, manner, pattern, way), 侀 (statute), 形状 (shape-up), 形狀 (form), 形態 (form, pattern), 形式 (circumstance, form, situation), 形 (form, to appear, to look), 外形 (figure). (various references) | |
Czech | tvar (fashion, figure, form, mould). (various references) | |
Danish | form (form). (various references) | |
Dutch | vormen (account for, acknowledge, confirm, constitute, corroborate, cut, form, make up), vorm (form, mold, mould, voice), formeren (develop, form), aangaan (burn, catch, concern, flash on, form, make a contract, make a noise, relate, strike, take fire). (various references) | |
