An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
English-French-Persian

The traditional or → classical logic in which the → validity or → invalidity of a conclusion is deduced from two or more statements (→ premises). Based on Aristotle's (384-322 BC) theory of → syllogism, systematized in his book "Organon," its focus is not on what is stated (the content) but on the structure (form) of the → argument and the validity of the inference drawn from the premises of the argument; if the premises are true then the logical consequence must also be true. Formal logic is → bivalent, that is it recognizes only two → truth values: → true and → false. The basic principles of formal logic are: 1) → principle of identity, 2) → principle of excluded middle, and 3) → principle of non-contradiction. See also → symbolic logic, → fuzzy logic.

→ formal; → logic.

In logic and mathematics, a system in which statements can be constructed and manipulated with logical rules.

→ formal; → system.

A colorless gas with a pungent, suffocating odor used as an adhering component of glues in many wood products. Formaldehyde (H₂CO) is obtained most commonly by the oxidation of methanol or petroleum gases such as methane, ethane, etc.
In the → interstellar medium, formaldehyde is formed the surface of → dust grains. It is then converted into gas phase by → photodesorption. H₂CO was the first → organic molecule discovered in the ISM (Lewis E. Snyder et al. 1969, Phys. Rev. Lett., 22, 679).

From form(ic) acid, from Fr. formique, + → aldehyde.

1) Excessive adherence to prescribed forms.
2) Math., Logic: → Formalized expression of a set of elements; the nature of such expression.
3) A philosophical view of mathematics in which mathematics, including the logic used in proofs, can be based on the formal manipulation of symbols irrespective of their meaning.

From → formal + → -ism.

1) Condition or quality of being formal; accordance with required or traditional rules, procedures, etc.
2) Strict adherence to established rules and procedures (Dictionary.com).

→ formal; → -ity.

1) The act of giving something a form or structure by introducing rules and procedures.
2) The act of formalizing.

→ formalize; → -tion.

1) To state in symbolic form; to give a definite structure to.
2) To give something legal or formal status.

From → formal + → -ize.

Compound verb, from disevar, → formal, + kardan "to do, to make;" Mid.Pers. kardan; O.Pers./Av. kar- "to do, make, build;" Av. kərənaoiti "he makes;" cf. Skt. kr- "to do, to make," krnoti "he makes, he does," karoti "he makes, he does," karma "act, deed;" PIE base k^wer- "to do, to make."

1) General: The way in which something is presented, organized, or arranged.
Publishing: The shape and size of a book, magazine, or newspaper, including the typeface, binding, quality of paper, margins, etc.
Computers: The structure or arrangement of digital data in a specific type of file. A computer program accepts data as input in a certain format, processes it, and provides it as output in the same or another format.
2) Computers: To prepare a storage medium, usually a disk, for reading and writing.

From Fr. format, from Mod.L. liber formatus "a book formed" (in such and such a way), referring to shape, size; from formatus p.p. of formare "to form," → form.

1) Disâr, from dis, → form + -âr contraction of âvar agent noun of âvardan "to bring; to cause, produce" (Mid.Pers. âwurtan, âvaritan; Av. ābar- "to bring; to possess," from prefix ā- + Av./O.Pers. bar- "to bear, carry," bareθre "to bear (infinitive)," bareθri "a female that bears (children), a mother;" Mod.Pers. bordan "to carry;" Skt. bharati "he carries;" Gk. pherein; L. fero "to carry").
2) Infinitive from dis, → form.

1) The act or process of forming or the state of being formed, such as → star formation.
2) Geology: A laterally continuous rock unit with a distinctive set of characteristics that make it possible to recognize and map from one → outcrop or well to another. The basic rock unit of stratigraphy.

Verbal noun of → form, + -ate + -ion.

Diseš, verbal noun of disidan, → from dis-, → form, + -eš.

The process of preparing a hard disk or other storage medium for use by an operating system. Before a hard disk can be used, it needs to be formatted so that it will be able to store files and applications.

→ format; → -ing.

A colorless, corrosive fuming liquid with pungent odor. It occurs in various plants and in the venom of many ant species. Used in dyeing, tanning, and electroplating. Also called methanoic acid. HCOOH is the simplest organic acid and the first identified in the interstellar medium (Zuckerman et al. 1971, ApJ, 163, L41). It has been observed principally in star-forming regions such as Orion KL, Sgr B2, Sgr A, and W51 and is associated with → hot molecular cores and → massive star formation. Recently, it has also been shown to be present in some → hot corinos associated with formation of stars similar to our Sun. Due to the presence of carboxyl radical (COOH), it plays an important role in the pathway formation of → prebiotic molecules like amino acids, in the interstellar clouds and comets (see, e.g., Lattanzi et al. 2008, ApJS 176, 536).

From L. formica "ant," ultimately from from PIE *morwi-, *wormiko- "ant;" cf. Av. maoiri-; Mid.Per. môr; Pers. mur, murcé "ant;" Skt. vamra- "ant;" Gk. murmeks, wormikas; O.C.S. mraviji; O.Ir. moirb; O.N. maurr.

1) Physics, Math.: A statement of facts in a symbolical or general form, by substitution in which a result applicable to particular data may be obtained.
2) Chemistry: An expression of the constituents of a compound by symbols and figures.

From L. formula "form, rule, method, formula," literally "small form," from forma, → form, + → -ule diminutive suffix.

Disul, from dis, → form, + -ul, → -ule.

To express in precise → form; state definitely or systematically. To reduce to or express in a → formula.

Verbal form of → form.

1) The act or process of formulating.
2) A particular expression of an idea, thought, or theory.
3) Something prepared according to a → formula.

→ formulate; → -tion.

The Chemical Furnace. A faint → constellation in the southern sky, representing a chemist's furnace. Its brightest star, Alpha Fornacis, is a double of magnitudes 4.0 and 6.5. Abbreviation: For; genitive: Fornacis.

L. fornax "oven, kiln," related to fornus, furnus "oven," and to formus "warm," from PIE base *ghworm-/*ghwerm- "warm" (cf. Mod./Mid.Pers. garm "warm;" O.Pers./Av. garəma- "hot, warm;" Skt. gharmah "heat;" Gk. thermos "warm;" cf. O.E. wearm; O.H.G., Ger. warm).
Fornax was created and named by Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (1713-1762) in honor of Antoine Lavoisier, the French chemist, who was guillotined in the French Revolution in 1794. He created it out of several faint stars in the constellation → Eridanus.

Kuré "furnace;" Tabari kalə "furnace," kəlen "ash;" Laki koira; Kurd. kulan, kulandan "to cook;" Laki koira; Kurd. kulan, kulandan "to cook;" related to garm "warm;" cf. Skt. ghar- "to burn;" E. kiln "furnace, oven," from L. culina "cooking stove, kitchen;" PIE root *gwher- "to warm, be warm," → warm.

The second richest → cluster of galaxies within 100 million light-years, although it is much smaller than the → Virgo cluster.

→ Fornax; → cluster.

A cardinal number, ten times four.

M.E. fourti, O.E. feowertig, from feower, → four, + tig "group of ten" (cf. O.S. fiwartig, Du. veertig, O.H.G. fiorzug, Ger. vierzig, Goth. fidwor tigjus.

Cehel (short form cel); Mid.Pers. cehel "forty;" Av. caθwarəsa(n)t- "forty," from caθwar-, → four, + sant-, sat "ten;" cf. Skt. catvārimśát- "forty."

1a) To or toward what is ahead or in front.
1b) Directed toward a point in advance.
2) To send forward; transmit, especially (a letter or email) to a different address.

From fore "before, in front of," cognate with Pers. farâ, → pro-,+ → -ward.

Piš-su, from piš "forward; in front of; before;" Mid.Pers. pêš, + su, → direction.

Scattering in which photons emerge from the → scattering medium travelling predominantly in the same direction as they entered. The → halos around the Sun and Moon in wet weather are caused by forward scattering by water droplets in the Earth's atmosphere. → backscattering.

→ forward; → scattering.

1) Geology: The process whereby a geologic section (subsurface model of one-, two-, or three dimensions) is transformed into a synthetic seismogram (synthetic seismic record).
2) In → asteroseismology, a model that takes the physical properties of a star as input parameters and predicts the star's oscillations. Then, by finding parameters that yield oscillation frequencies (ω_nlm) close to those observed, one can infer the properties of the observed star. The quantum numbers n, l, and m must be identified before any meaningful comparison between seismic data and model predictions can be made. That mode identification requires a physical interpretation of the measured frequencies.

→ forward; → seismic; → modeling.