figure
nounUK /ˈfɪɡə/ · CA, US /ˈfɪɡjɚ/
Etymology From Middle English figure, borrowed from Old French figure, from Latin figūra (“form, shape, form of a word, a figure of speech, Late Latin a sketch, drawing”), from fingō (“to form, shape, mold, fashion”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold, shape, form, knead”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos), Sanskrit देग्धि (dégdhi), Old English dāg (“dough”). More at dough. Doublet of figura.
16 senses
- 1A drawing or diagram conveying information.
- 2The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting…
- 3A person, thing, or action representative of another
- 4The appearance or impression made by the conduct or…
- 5Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous…
- 6A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the…
- 7A numeral.
- 8A number, an amount.
- 9A shape.
- 10A visible pattern as in wood or cloth.
- 11Any complex dance moveᵂ.
- 12A figure of speech.
- 13The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative…
- 14A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the…
- 15Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a…
- 16A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a…
1
A drawing or diagram conveying information.
- For example, while Figure 1 shows information for 516 visitor groups, Figure 3 presents data for 1,625 individuals. A note above each graph or table specifies the information illustrated. ... For example, although Joshua Tree NP visitors returned 525 questionnaires, Figure 1 shows data for only 516 respondents.2004, Joshua Tree National Park 2004 Visitor Study:
2
The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body.
- a figure in bronze; a figure cut in marble
- a coin that bears the figure of an angelc. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
1 more example
- Ever since I was a young’n and my dad gave me a Godzilla figure, I’ve been a huge fan of the big green lizard from the Land of the Rising Sun.2007 December 23, Andy Salisbury, “Unleash the Beast”, in Nintendo Power, volume 222, page 34:
3
A person, thing, or action representative of another
- Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. When a series of bank failures made this impossible, there was widespread anger, leading to the public humiliation of symbolic figures.2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
4
The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person.
- He cut a sorry figure standing there in the rain.
- I made some figure there.1697, Virgil, “(please specify the book number)”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
1 more example
- gentlemen of the best figure in the county1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
5
Obsolete Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous representation; splendour; show.
- that he may live in figure and indulgence1729, William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life:
6
A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body.
- The origin of the corset is lost in remote antiquity. The figures of the early Egyptian women show clearly an artificial shape of the waist produced by some style of corset.1919, B. G. Jefferis, J. L. Nichols, Searchlights on Health:
- She was cunningly dressed in a black, sheer gown with gold ornaments showing her figure to perfection.1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 53:
7
A numeral.
8
A number, an amount.
- (i) in the 1966 edition of The Destruction of Dresden Irving contended that 135,000 were estimated authoritatively to have been killed and further contended that the documentation suggested a figure between 100,00 and 250,000;1996, David Irving v. Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt:
9
A shape.
- a geometrical figure, a plane figure, a solid figure
- Flowers have all exquisite figures.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
2 more examples
- And these were not human shapes, or the shapes of anything I recognised as alive in the world, but outlines of fire that traced globes, triangles, crosses, and the luminous bodies of various geometrical figures.1908, Algernon Blackwood, John Silence, Physician Extraordinary:
- The arc of a circle may be very little, but, given that, it is possible to construct the entire figure.1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:
10
A visible pattern as in wood or cloth.
- The muslin was of a pretty figure.
11
Any complex dance moveᵂ.
- Although the Celebrity was almost impervious to sarcasm, he was now beginning to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness,[…]. It was with a palpable relief that he heard the first warning notes of the figure.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
12
A figure of speech.
- to represent the imagination under the figure of a wing1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
13
Human sciences, Logic, Mathematics, Philosophy, Sciences The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.
14
Astrology, Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses.
- its quality, like those of all the rest, is determined by its position in the house of the astrological figure1889, Franz Hartmann, The Principles of Astrological Geomancy:
15
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression.
- Here, Beethoven limits the syncopations and modifications of rhythm which are so prominent in the first and third movements, and employs a rapid, busy, and most melodious figure in the Violins, which is irresistible in its gay and brilliant effect[…]1888, George Grove, Beethoven's Nine Symphonies: Analytical Essays:
16
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment.
- Derived terms
93 terms
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- figurine, figurative, figuratively