figure en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈfɪɡə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈfɪɡjɚ/ (Canada, US) spelling pronunciation
- /ˈfɪɡɚ/ (Canada, US)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈfɪɡəɾ/ (Scotland)
- /ˈfɪɡəɹ/ (Ireland)
- (General-American) audio
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.
Meanings
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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:
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The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body.
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 14, Andy Salisbury, “Unleash the Beast”, in Nintendo Power, volume 222, page 34:a figure in bronze; a figure cut in marble
a coin that bears the figure of an angel
c. 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]:
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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:
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The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person.
gentlemen of the best figure in the county
1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC: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:He cut a sorry figure standing there in the rain.
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(obsolete) Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous representation; splendour; show.
that he may live in figure and indulgence
1729, William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life:
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A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body.
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: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:
- A numeral.
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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:
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A shape.
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: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: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:a geometrical figure, a plane figure, a solid figure
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A visible pattern as in wood or cloth.
The muslin was of a pretty figure.
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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:
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A figure of speech.
to represent the imagination under the figure of a wing
1849–1861, 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:
- The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.
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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 figure
1889, Franz Hartmann, The Principles of Astrological Geomancy:
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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:
- A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| figures | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
significant figure (derived from figure (noun)) · Lissajous figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-eight (derived from figure (noun)) · Chladni figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figurist (derived from figure (noun)) · six figures (derived from figure (noun)) · dark figure (derived from figure (noun)) · four-figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figurework (derived from figure (noun)) · miner's figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-of-eight (derived from figure (noun)) · figure weaving (derived from figure (noun)) · Widmanstaetten figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure up (derived from figure (noun)) · black figure (derived from figure (noun)) · ball park figure (derived from figure (noun)) · cut a figure (derived from figure (noun)) · mother figure (derived from figure (noun)) · four figures (derived from figure (noun)) · figurial (derived from figure (noun)) · figure away (derived from figure (noun)) · figure 4 (derived from figure (noun)) · three figures (derived from figure (noun)) · break figure (derived from figure (noun)) · seven figures (derived from figure (noun)) · two-figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-caster (derived from figure (noun)) · bowling figures (derived from figure (noun)) · Purkinje figure (derived from figure (noun)) · minifigure (derived from figure (noun)) · figurize (derived from figure (noun)) · figure of speech (derived from figure (noun)) · text figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure poem (derived from figure (noun)) · figure skate (derived from figure (noun)) · semifigure (derived from figure (noun)) · figuresome (derived from figure (noun)) · authority figure (derived from figure (noun)) · counterfigure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-hugging (derived from figure (noun)) · figure of eight (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-eight hitch (derived from figure (noun)) · figure loom (derived from figure (noun)) · figure dash (derived from figure (noun)) · nine figures (derived from figure (noun)) · terminal figure (derived from figure (noun)) · long figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-head (derived from figure (noun)) · Purkinje's figure (derived from figure (noun)) · lay figure (derived from figure (noun)) · red figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure four (derived from figure (noun)) · stick figure (derived from figure (noun)) · three-figure (derived from figure (noun)) · action figure (derived from figure (noun)) · parental figure (derived from figure (noun)) · plane figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure axis (derived from figure (noun)) · hate figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figurate (derived from figure (noun)) · figure skater (derived from figure (noun)) · big figure (derived from figure (noun)) · Widmanstätten figure (derived from figure (noun)) · academy figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure space (derived from figure (noun)) · figure of merit (derived from figure (noun)) · rubbery figures (derived from figure (noun)) · figurehead (derived from figure (noun)) · figure-outable (derived from figure (noun)) · all-figure number (derived from figure (noun)) · eight figures (derived from figure (noun)) · figure skating (derived from figure (noun)) · snow figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure of fun (derived from figure (noun)) · subfigure (derived from figure (noun)) · figureless (derived from figure (noun)) · six-figure (derived from figure (noun)) · single-figure (derived from figure (noun)) · musical figure (derived from figure (noun)) · hourglass figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure eight (derived from figure (noun)) · multifigure (derived from figure (noun)) · Lichtenberg figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figure 9 (derived from figure (noun)) · five figures (derived from figure (noun)) · vertex figure (derived from figure (noun)) · public figure (derived from figure (noun)) · Chladni's figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figury (derived from figure (noun)) · ballpark figure (derived from figure (noun)) · figurism (derived from figure (noun)) · double figures (derived from figure (noun)) · father figure (derived from figure (noun))
Descendants
Relateds
figuratively · figurative · figurine
Translations (200)
fi muoto (human figure; shape of human body) · fr figure (shape) · ja 数字 (numeral) · uk фігу́ра (shape) · ko 숫자 (numeral) · uk фігу́ра (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fr silhouette (human figure; shape of human body) · mi ropi (human figure; shape of human body) · lv attēls (drawing) · de Form (shape) · da figur (shape) · fa شکل (drawing) · ota شكل (drawing) · sv figur (drawing) · uk по́стать (human figure; shape of human body) · nl cijfer (numeral) · gl figura (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · uk фігу́ра (human figure; shape of human body) · mi whika (numeral) · eo figuro (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fkv haamu (shape) · bg фигу́ра (human figure; shape of human body) · sk figúra (dance figure) · hu összeg (number, amount) · ca figura (shape) · de Gestalt (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fr figure (drawing) · nl personage (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · sq njesh (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · la numerus (number, amount) · lv cipars (numeral) · ota رسم (drawing) · gd figear (numeral) · ga figiúr (numeral) · da ciffer (numeral) · ru рису́нок (drawing) · pl sylwetka (human figure; shape of human body) · ro figură (shape) · fi kuvio (shape) · pt cifra (numeral) · fa صورت (drawing) · ja 体型 (human figure; shape of human body) · gd dèanamh (human figure; shape of human body) · ko 인물 (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · pt figura (shape) · ro figură (human figure; shape of human body) · sk číslo (number, amount) · it cifra (numeral) · gl figura (drawing) · la figūra (shape) · sk číslica (numeral) · fa دیسه (drawing) · id sosok (human figure; shape of human body) · sv figur (shape) · ga uimhir (numeral) · pt figura (human figure; shape of human body) · he דְּמוּת (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · grc σχῆμα (shape) · it fisico (human figure; shape of human body) · fi kuva (drawing) · pl figura (human figure; shape of human body) · bg фигура (shape) · fi hahmo (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fi hahmo (shape) · hy պատկեր (shape) · vi hình vẽ (drawing) · es guarismo (numeral) · ko 몸매 (human figure; shape of human body) · vi [bức] hình (drawing) · bg стан (human figure; shape of human body) · es figura (drawing) · mi ropi (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fi muoto (shape) · pl cyfra (numeral) · sk útvar (shape) · fr figure (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · hu alakzat (visible pattern) · vi [bức] ảnh (drawing) · hu alak (human figure; shape of human body) · ca figura (drawing) · es guarismo (number, amount) · es cifra (number, amount) · it figura (shape) · fi vartalo (human figure; shape of human body) · ota شكل (shape) · ga amhlachas (drawing) · sv siffra (numeral) · nl figuur (drawing) · be дзе́яч (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · nl vorm (shape) · he שרטוט (drawing) · tl tambilang (numeral) · pl osoba (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · hu számjegy (numeral) · hu személyiség (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · bg шевица (visible pattern) · wuu 人 (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · hu alak (shape) · es figura (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fa تصویر (drawing) · nl figuur (human figure; shape of human body) · ko 체격 (human figure; shape of human body) · ro formă (shape) · vi hình (shape) · cmn 體型 /体型 (human figure; shape of human body) · ro figură (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · ru фо́рма (shape) · ru о́браз (visible pattern) · cmn 人物 (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · hu forma (shape) · es cifra (numeral) · ro figură (drawing) · it figura (drawing) · ru лицо́ (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · es figura (shape) · de Figur (human figure; shape of human body) · fi kuvio (visible pattern) · sk obrázok (drawing) · ml ആകൃതി (human figure; shape of human body) · bg снага́ (human figure; shape of human body) · pl rysunek (drawing) · ru фигу́ра (shape) · ru ци́фра (numeral) · sk cifra (numeral) · sv figur (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · ms perawakan (human figure; shape of human body) · ca xifra (numeral) · pt número (numeral) · fr personnalité (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · sa स्वरूपः (human figure; shape of human body) · da skikkelse (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · ro siluetă (human figure; shape of human body) · it personaggio (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · sq figurë (shape) · ms susuk (human figure; shape of human body) · fi numero (numeral) · ru фигу́ра (human figure; shape of human body) · it figura (human figure; shape of human body) · fr chiffre (numeral) · it forma (shape) · sq figurë (drawing) · hu ábra (drawing) · he צוּרָה (shape) · tr şekil (drawing) · ga déanamh (human figure; shape of human body) · fr forme (human figure; shape of human body) · da tal (numeral) · es talle (human figure; shape of human body) · pl kształt (shape) · ru телосложе́ние (human figure; shape of human body) · de Ziffer (numeral) · cs ilustrace (drawing) · hu bábu (human figure; shape of human body) · fr personnage (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · sq shifër (numeral) · te అంకె (numeral) · ru фигу́ра (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · gl figura (human figure; shape of human body) · sk figúra (human figure; shape of human body) · pt figura (drawing) · izh figura (shape) · hu figura (human figure; shape of human body) · pl postać (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · la habitus (human figure; shape of human body) · de Abbildung (drawing) · ga fíor (shape) · pt figura (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fi figuuri (human figure; shape of human body) · cs postava (human figure; shape of human body) · es figura (human figure; shape of human body) · bg фигу́ра (drawing) · uk по́стать (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · bg число (number, amount) · sk ilustrácia (drawing) · lv figūra (shape) · bg ци́фра (numeral) · ga pearsa (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · fi kuvio (drawing) · vi [con] số (numeral) · ja 人物 (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · da figur (drawing) · fi luku (numeral) · ga cruth (human figure; shape of human body) · ru число́ (numeral) · nl afbeelding (drawing) · la figūra (drawing) · bg телосложе́ние (human figure; shape of human body) · cs obrázek (drawing) · fr silhouette (shape) · sk postava (human figure; shape of human body) · cmn 身材 (human figure; shape of human body) · cmn 數字 /数字 (numeral) · tl laraw (shape) · sk figúra (shape) · bg личност (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · hu emberi alak (human figure; shape of human body) · he סִפְרָה (numeral) · vi nhân vật (a person, representing a certain consciousness) · gl figura (shape) · ga deilbh (drawing)