Etymograph

English

figural

Figural comes from Old French figural ‘symbolic’, and goes back to Latin figūra ‘figure’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūra1‘figure’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūrālis1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400figural1‘symbolic’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2007figural1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English figural
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories: “The counterparts, in the Christian era, to the figural…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūraWiktionary, English figural‘figure’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigūrālisWiktionary, English figural
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400figuralWiktionary, English figural‘symbolic’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 2007figuralWiktionary, English figural. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories: “The counterparts, in the Christian era, to the figural…”

Linked words

through Latin figūra ‘figure’

configuration, configure, 6 more

Today it means

adj Representing by means of a figure; emblematic.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “figural”. 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 / figural

Shirt and support for this word