English
semiform
Semiform comes from Latin sēmifōrmis ‘half-formed, semiform’, and goes back to fōrma.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrma1
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēmifōrmis2‘half-formed, semiform’
- Englishearliest quotation 1880semiform2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin semiformis
- 2 Wiktionary, English semiform
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1880, Horace Bushnell, Mary A. Bushnell Cheney: “For seventeen years he had kept death at bay,…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfōrmaWiktionary, Latin semiformis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsēmifōrmisWiktionary, English semiform‘half-formed, semiform’
- Englishearliest quotation 1880semiformWiktionary, English semiform. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1880, Horace Bushnell, Mary A. Bushnell Cheney: “For seventeen years he had kept death at bay,…”
Linked words
through Ancient Greek μορφή ‘shape, fashion, appearance, outward form,…’
through Etruscan *morma
transformation, informatics, uniformity, deformable, 16 more
through Latin fōrma
information, formation, reform, formula, format, formal, uniform, inform, forma, fromage, deform, 24 more
Today it means
noun A partial or imperfect form.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “semiform”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin semiformis. 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 fōrma / semiform