Meaning

noun any process serving to define the shape of something

noun the act of fabricating something in a particular shape

verb shape or influence; give direction to

originFrom Middle English shapinge, shapende, schapende, schappande, from Old English sċyppende, sċeppende, from Proto-West Germanic *skappjandī, from Proto-Germanic *skapjandz, present participle of Proto-Germanic *skapjaną (“to form, shape, create”), equivalent to shape + -ing.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0