Etymograph

English

configuration

Configuration comes from Latin cōnfigūrō ‘to conform to’, from figūrō ‘figure’, and ultimately from figūra.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūra1‘shape, form, figure’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūrō1‘figure’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfigūrō2‘to conform to’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfigūrātiō3
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600configuration3
  6. Englishtodayconfiguration3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin configuro
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin configuratio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English configuration

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūraWiktionary, Latin configuro‘shape, form, figure’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūrōWiktionary, Latin configuro‘figure’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfigūrōWiktionary, Latin configuratio‘to conform to’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnfigūrātiōWiktionary, English configuration
  5. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600configurationWiktionary, English configuration
  6. EnglishtodayconfigurationWiktionary, English configuration

Formed from configure + -ation

Latin figūra ‘shape, form, figure’

Latin figūrō ‘figure’

Latin configurō ‘to conform to’

Old French configurer

English configure

Linked words

through Latin figūra ‘shape, form, figure’

figure, figurine, figural, 5 more

Today it means

noun The form of a thing, as depending on the relative placement of the parts of a thing's shape.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “configuration”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin configuro, Latin configuratio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin figūra / configuration

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