Meaning

noun a diagram or picture illustrating textual material

noun alternative names for the body of a human being

noun one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration

originFrom Middle English figure, borrowed from Old French figure, from Latin figūra (“form, shape, form of a word, a figure of speech, Late Latin a sketch, drawing”), from fingō (“to form, shape, mold, fashion”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold, shape, form, knead”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos), Sanskrit देग्धि (dégdhi), Old English dāg (“dough”). More at dough. Doublet of…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0