Meaning

noun the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something

noun a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality

noun a perceptual structure

originFrom Middle English forme (“shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, seat, condition, agreement, etc.”), borrowed from Old French forme, from Latin fōrma (“shape, figure, image, outline, plan, mold, frame, case, etc., manner, sort, kind, etc.”). In sense "division grouping school students" (now dated), derived from public school nomenclature later adopted by state schools. It is sometimes said to be…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0