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

The oscillation of a system or object induced by an external periodic force. See also → free oscillation.

→ forced; → oscillation.

The part of the arm between the → elbow and the → wrist.

From fore- a prefix meaning "before; front; superior," related to → per-; → arm.

Araš, variant ârenj "elbow;" Mid.Pers. âranj; O.Pers. arašan- "cubit;" Av. arəθnâ- "elbow;" Skt. aratni- "elbow," Iranian stem aratan-, araθn-, borrowed from Iranian into General Slavic as aršin "ell."

The ground or parts situated, or represented as situated, in the front; the portion of a scene or stellar field nearest to the viewer. → background.

From fore, from O.E. fore (prep.) "before, in front of;" (adv.) "before, previously" (cf. O.H.G. fora, Ger. vor, Goth. faiura); from PIE *per-/*pr- (cf. Skt. pura "before, formerly;" Av. paro "before;" Hittite para- "on, forth;" Gk. paros "before," para "from beside, beyond," peri "around, about, toward," pro "before;" L. pro "before, for, instead of," prae "before," per "through, for") + ground, from M.E., from O.E. grund; akin to O.H.G. grunt "ground."

Pišzaminé, from piš- "before; in front," from Mid.Pers. pêš "before, earlier;" O.Pers. paišiya "before; in the presence of" + ziminé "ground," from zamin "earth, ground" → earth.

Loss of radiant energy received from an astronomical object due to the presence of absorbing matter situated between the object and observer.

→ foreground; → absorption.

1) A large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; woodland (Dictionary.com).
2) In → graph theory, a → graph which contains no → cycles. The connected components of a forest are → trees.

M.E., from O.Fr. forest, probably from L.L. forestis (silva) "the outside woods," from L. foris "outside."

Jangal "a wood, forest, a vast land with plenty of trees;" cf. Skt. jangala- "arid , sparingly grown with trees and plants."

1) An instrument having two or more prongs or tines, for holding, lifting, etc., as an implement for handling food or any of various agricultural tools (dictionary.com).
2) Something resembling or suggesting this in form. → fork mounting.

Fork, from O.E. forca, from L. furca "pitchfork," of uncertain origin; → mounting.

Došâx, došâxé "two-pronged; fork," from do "two" (Mid.Pers. do, Av. dva-, Skt. dvi-, Gk. duo, L. duo, E. two, Ger. zwei, Fr. deux) + šâx "branch; horn," from Mid.Pers. šâk "branch;" cf. Lith. šaka "branch;" O.S. soxa "plough;" Gothic hoha "plough."
Cangâl "claws, fingers," from cang "claws, fingers," + -al, → -al.

A type of → equatorial mounting consisting of a two-pronged fork, which forms the → polar axis, with the → telescope pivoted between the prongs of the fork on a → declination axis.

→ fork; → mounting.

1) (n.) General: The shape and structure of something as distinguished from its material.
Philosophy: The structure, pattern, organization, or essential nature of anything. Structure or pattern as distinguished from matter.
Logic: The abstract relations of terms in a proposition, and of propositions to one another.
2) (v.intr.) of form.
3) (v.tr.) of form.

From O.Fr. forme, from L. forma "form, mold, shape, case," origin unknown.

1) Dis, disé "form, appearance," variants -diz, -diš (tandis "body form, like a body; effigy;" mâhdis "moon-like;" šabdiz "night color; a horse of dark rusty color;" andiš- "to think, contemplate"), from Mid.Pers. dêsag "form, appearance," dêsidan "to form, build;" Av. daēs- "to show," daēsa- "sign, omen;" cf. Skt. deś- "to show, point out;" PIE *deik- "to show" (cf. Gk. deiknumi "to show," dike "manner, custom;" L. dicere "to utter, say;" O.H.G. zeigon, Ger. zeigen "to show;" O.E. teon "to accuse," tæcan "to teach").
2) and 3) corresponding infintives of dis, as above.

1) According to, or following established or prescribed forms, conventions, etc.
2) Math., logic: Of a proof, in strict logical form with a justification for every step.
3) Math., logic: Of a calculation, correct in form; made with strict justification for every step; of or pertaining to manipulation of symbols without regard to their meaning.
4) → formal language.
5) → formal logic.

M.E. formal, formel, from L. formalis, from → form + → -al.

Diseyi, desevar, from dis, → form, + adj. suffixes -i and -var.

A language designed for use in situations in which natural language is unsuitable, as for example in → mathematics, → logic, or → computer  → programming. The symbols and formulas of such languages stand in precisely specified syntactic and semantic relations to one another (Dictionary.com).

→ formal; → language.

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.