English
formous
Formous comes from Latin fōrmōsus ‘beautiful, handsome’, and perhaps goes back to Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, form’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμορφή1morphḗ‘shape, form’uncertain
- Etruscanmodern*morma2uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma1‘shape, beauty’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmōsus3‘beautiful, handsome’
- Englishearliest quotation 1885formous3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin formosus
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin forma
- 3 Wiktionary, English formous
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Richard Francis Burton, Tale of Núr al-Dín Alí and His Son Badr al-Dín Hasan: “She is the daughter of the Wazir Shams al-Din…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμορφήWiktionary, Latin formosusmorphḗ‘shape, form’uncertain
- Etruscanmodern*mormaWiktionary, Latin formauncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmaWiktionary, Latin formosus‘shape, beauty’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmōsusWiktionary, English formous‘beautiful, handsome’
- Englishearliest quotation 1885formousWiktionary, English formous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1885, Richard Francis Burton, Tale of Núr al-Dín Alí and His Son Badr al-Dín Hasan: “She is the daughter of the Wazir Shams al-Din…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, form’
through Etruscan *morma
transformation, informatics, uniformity, deformable, 16 more
through Latin fōrma ‘shape, beauty’
information, formation, reform, formula, format, formal, uniform, inform, forma, fromage, deform, 24 more
Today it means
adj fair; beautiful.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “formous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin formosus, Latin forma. 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 / Ancient Greek μορφή / formous