English
formans
Formans comes from German Formans ‘formative’, from Latin elementum fōrmāns ‘forming element’, and ultimately from fōrma ‘form’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma‘form’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmō‘to shape’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEelementum fōrmāns‘forming element’
- Germanc. 1650–presentFormans‘formative’
- Englishearliest quotation 1968formans
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma‘form’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmō‘to shape’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEelementum fōrmāns‘forming element’
- Germanc. 1650–presentFormans‘formative’
- Englishearliest quotation 1968formans
Earliest quotation: 1968, Karl H. Menges, The Turkic Languages and Peoples: “These facts then clearly evidence such elements as enclitical…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, form’
through Etruscan *morma
through Latin fōrma ‘form’
formula, uniform, informatics, fromage, deformable, 25 more
through Latin fōrmō ‘to shape’
Today it means
noun Synonym of formative (“language unit, typically a morph, that has a morphological function”).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fōrma / formans