A bad author deserves better usage than a bad critic; a man may be
the former merely through the misfortune of an ill judgment; but he
can not be latter without both that and an ill temper.
Pope.
Syn. -- Prior; previous; anterior; antecedent; preceding; foregoing.
||For`me*ret" (?), n. [F.] (Arch.) One of the half ribs against the
||walls in a ceiling vaulted with ribs.
For"mer*ly (?), adv. In time past, either in time immediately preceding
or at any indefinite distance; of old; heretofore.
Form"ful (?), a. Creative; imaginative. [R.] "The formful brain."
Thomson.
For"mic (?), a. [L. formica an ant: cf. F. formique.] (Chem.)
Pertaining to, or derived from, ants; as, formic acid; in an extended
sense, pertaining to, or derived from, formic acid; as, formic ether.
Amido formic acid, carbamic acid. -- Formic acid, a colorless, mobile
liquid, HCO.OH, of a sharp, acid taste, occurring naturally in ants,
nettles, pine needles, etc., and produced artifically in many ways, as
by the oxidation of methyl alcohol, by the reduction of carbonic acid
or the destructive distillation of oxalic acid. It is the first member
of the fatty acids in the paraffin series, and is homologous with
acetic acid.
||For*mi"ca (?), n. [L., an ant.] (Zoˆl.) A LinnÊan genus of
||hymenopterous insects, including the common ants. See Ant.
For`mi*ca"roid (?), a. [NL. Formicarius, the typical genus + -oid.]
(Zoˆl.) Like or pertaining to the family FormicaridÊ or ant thrushes.
For"mi*ca*ry (?), n. [LL. formicarium, fr. L. formica an ant.] (Zoˆl.)
The nest or dwelling of a swarm of ants; an ant-hill.
For"mi*cate (?), a. [L. formica an ant.] (Zoˆl.) Resembling, or
pertaining to, an ant or ants.
For`mi*ca"tion (?), n. [L. formicatio, fr. formicare to creep like an
ant, to feel as if ants were crawling on one's self, fr. formica ant:
cf. F. formication.] (Med.) A sensation resembling that made by the
creeping of ants on the skin. Dunglison.
For"mi*cid (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Pertaining to the ants. -- n. One of the
family FormicidÊ, or ants.
For`mi*da*bil"i*ty (?), n. Formidableness. Walpole.
For"mi*da*ble (?), a. [L. formidabilis, fr. formidare to fear, dread:
cf. F. formidable.] Exciting fear or apprehension; impressing dread;
adapted to excite fear and deter from approach, encounter, or
undertaking; alarming.
They seemed to fear the formodable sight.
Dryden.
I swell my preface into a volume, and make it formidable, when you
see so many pages behind.
Drydn.
Syn. -- Dreadful; fearful; terrible; frightful; shocking; horrible;
terrific; tremendous.
For"mi*da*ble*ness, n. The quality of being formidable, or adapted to
excite dread. Boyle.
For"mi*da*bly, adv. In a formidable manner.
For*mid"o*lose (?), a. [L. formidolosus, fr. formido fear.] Very much
afraid. [Obs.] Bailey.
Form"ing (?), n. The act or process of giving form or shape to
anything; as, in shipbuilding, the exact shaping of partially shaped
timbers.
Form"less, a. Shapeless; without a determinate form; wanting regularity
of shape. -- Form"less*ly, adv. -- Form"less*ness, n.
For"mu*la (?), n.; pl. E. Formulas (#), L. FormulÊ (#). [L., dim. of
forma form, model. SeeForm, n.] 1. A prescribed or set form; an
established rule; a fixed or conventional method in which anything is
to be done, arranged, or said.
2. (Eccl.) A written confession of faith; a formal statement of
foctrines.
3. (Math.) A rule or principle expressed in algebraic language; as, the
binominal formula.
4. (Med.) A prescription or recipe for the preparation of a medicinal
compound.
5. (Chem.) A symbolic expression (by means of letters, figures, etc.)
of the constituents or constitution of a compound.
Chemical formulÊ consist of the abbreviations of the names of the
elements, with a small figure at the lower right hand, to denote the
number of atoms of each element contained.
Empirical formula (Chem.), an expression which gives the simple
proportion of the constituents; as, the empirical formula of acetic
acid is C2H4O2. -- Graphic formula, Rational formula (Chem.), an
expression of the constitution, and in a limited sense of the
structure, of a compound, by the grouping of its atoms or radicals; as,
a rational formula of acetic acid is CH3.(C:O).OH; -- called also
structural formula, constitutional formula, etc. See also the formula
of Benzene nucleus, under Benzene. -- Molecular formula (Chem.), a
formula indicating the supposed molecular constitution of a compound.
For`mu*la*ris"tic (?), a. Pertaining to, or exhibiting,
formularization. Emerson.
For`mu*lar*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of formularizing; a formularized
or formulated statement or exhibition. C. Kingsley.
For"mu*lar*ize (?), v. t. To reduce to a forula; to formulate.
For"mu*la*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. formulaire. See Formula.] Stated;
prescribed; ritual.
For"mu*la*ry, n.; pl. Formularies (#). [Cf. F. formulaire.] 1. A book
containing stated and prescribed forms, as of oaths, declarations,
prayers, medical formulaÊ, etc.; a book of precedents.