Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Figure"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Figure \Fig"ure\ (?; 135), n. [F., figure, L. figura; akin to
fingere to form, shape, feign. See {Feign}.]
1. The form of anything; shape; outline; appearance.

Flowers have all exquisite figures. --Bacon.

2. The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting,
modeling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a
representation of the human body; as, a figure in bronze;
a figure cut in marble.

A coin that bears the figure of an angel. --Shak.

3. A pattern in cloth, paper, or other manufactured article;
a design wrought out in a fabric; as, the muslin was of a
pretty figure.

4. (Geom.) A diagram or drawing; made to represent a
magnitude or the relation of two or more magnitudes; a
surface or space inclosed on all sides; -- called
superficial when inclosed by lines, and solid when
inclosed by surface; any arrangement made up of points,
lines, angles, surfaces, etc.

5. The appearance or impression made by the conduct or carrer
of a person; as, a sorry figure.

I made some figure there. --Dryden.

Gentlemen of the best figure in the county.
--Blackstone.

6. Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous
representation; splendor; show.

That he may live in figure and indulgence. --Law.

7. A character or symbol representing a number; a numeral; a
digit; as, 1, 2,3, etc.

8. Value, as expressed in numbers; price; as, the goods are
estimated or sold at a low figure. [Colloq.]

With nineteen thousand a year at the very lowest
figure. --Thackeray.

9. A person, thing, or action, conceived of as analogous to
another person, thing, or action, of which it thus becomes
a type or representative.

Who is the figure of Him that was to come. --Rom. v.
14.

10. (Rhet.) A mode of expressing abstract or immaterial ideas
by words which suggest pictures or images from the
physical world; pictorial language; a trope; hence, any
deviation from the plainest form of statement.

To represent the imagination under the figure of a
wing. --Macaulay.

11. (Logic) The form of a syllogism with respect to the
relative position of the middle term.

12. (Dancing) Any one of the several regular steps or
movements made by a dancer.

13. (Astrol.) A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the
astrological houses. --Johnson.

14. (Music)
(a) Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as
a group of chords, which produce a single complete
and distinct impression. --Grove.
(b) A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a
strain or passage; a musical or motive; a florid
embellishment.

Note: Figures are often written upon the staff in music to
denote the kind of measure. They are usually in the
form of a fraction, the upper figure showing how many
notes of the kind indicated by the lower are contained
in one measure or bar. Thus, 2/4 signifies that the
measure contains two quarter notes. The following are
the principal figures used for this purpose:

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Figure \Fig"ure\, v. t.
1. To make a figure; to be distinguished or conspicious; as,
the envoy figured at court.

Sociable, hospitable, eloquent, admired, figuring
away brilliantly. --M. Arnold.

2. To calculate; to contrive; to scheme; as, he is figuring
to secure the nomination. [Colloq.]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Figure \Fig"ure\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Figured}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Figuring}.] [F. figurer, L. figurare, fr. figura. See
{Figure}, n.]
1. To represent by a figure, as to form or mold; to make an
image of, either palpable or ideal; also, to fashion into
a determinate form; to shape.

If love, alas! be pain I bear,

No thought can figure, and no tongue declare.Prior.

2. To embellish with design; to adorn with figures.

The vaulty top of heaven Figured quite o'er with
burning meteors. --Shak.

3. To indicate by numerals; also, to compute.

As through a crystal glass the figured hours are
seen. --Dryden.

4. To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize.

Whose white vestments figure innocence. --Shak.

5. To prefigure; to foreshow.

In this the heaven figures some event. --Shak.

6. (Mus.)
(a) To write over or under the bass, as figures or other
characters, in order to indicate the accompanying
chords.
(b) To embellish.

{To figure out}, to solve; to compute or find the result of.


{To figure up}, to add; to reckon; to compute the amount of.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

figure
n 1: a diagram or picture illustrating textual material; "the
area covered can be seen from Figure 2" [syn: {fig}]
2: alternative names for the body of a human being; "Leonardo
studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" [syn: {human body},
{physical body}, {material body}, {soma}, {build}, {physique},
{anatomy}, {shape}, {bod}, {chassis}, {frame}, {form}, {flesh}]
3: one of the elements that collectively form a system of
numbers; "0 and 1 are digits" [syn: {digit}]
4: a model of a bodily form (especially of a person); "he made
a figure of Santa Claus"
5: a well-known or notable person; "they studied all the great
names in the history of France"; "she is an important
figure in modern music" [syn: {name}, {public figure}]
6: a combination of points and lines and planes that form a
visible palpable shape
7: an amount of money expressed numerically; "a figure of $17
was suggested"
8: the impression produced by a person; "he cut a fine figure";
"a heroic figure"
9: the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite
quantity of units or individuals; "he had a number of
chores to do"; "the number of parameters is small"; "the
figure was about a thousand" [syn: {number}]
10: language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense [syn: {trope},
{figure of speech}, {image}]
11: a unitary percept having structure and coherence that is the
object of attention and that stands out against a ground
[ant: {ground}]
12: a decorative or artistic work; "the coach had a design on
the doors" [syn: {design}, {pattern}]
13: a predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating; "she
made the best score on compulsory figures"
v 1: judge to be probable [syn: {calculate}, {estimate}, {reckon},
{count on}, {forecast}]
2: be or play a part of or in; "Elections figure prominently in
every government program"; "How do the elections figure in
the current pattern of internal politics?" [syn: {enter}]
3: imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him on
horseback!" "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a
risk in this strategy" [syn: {visualize}, {envision}, {project},
{fancy}, {see}, {picture}, {image}]
4: make a mathematical calculation or computation [syn: {calculate},
{cipher}, {cypher}, {compute}, {work out}, {reckon}]
5: understand (informal); "He didn't figure her"


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