Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Fine Dictionary

figuration

ˌfɪgjərˈeɪʃən
WordNet
Plaque with a depiction in painted enamels: figures in a pavilion
Plaque with a depiction in painted enamels: figures in a pavilion
A picture painted in enamels on a copper plate. A man, woman and child are in a pavilion, a servant approaches with tea. The figures and architectural elements are shown in some relief. A curtain encloses the image at the top and the right. Original frame with black lacquer and squirrels and vines in gold.
  1. (n) figuration
    decorating with a design
  2. (n) figuration
    representing figuratively as by emblem or allegory
Illustrations
Star tile made of quartz chips, painted in blue and gold luster with two seated figures on opaque white tin-lead-alkali glaze, with (Arabic) edge lettering.
Star tile painted in gold luster with two sitting figures
Rounded rectangular tsuba with some tree leaves on the red-brown tinted front in katakiri-bori; a chestnut twig and some leaves on the yellow-brown tinted rear; signed "kanaya gorosaburo zo" (?).
Rounded rectangular tsuba with some tree leaves on the red-brown tinted front in katakiri-bori; a chestnut twig and some leaves on the yellow-brown tinted rear; signed "kanaya gorosaburo zo" (?).
Rounded rectangular tsuba, set in a silver rim; at the front in iru-takazogan two oni fleeing, while being watched from a window by a lady-in-waiting; signed "seiryoken hagiya katsuhira".
Rounded rectangular tsuba, set in a silver rim; at the front in iru-takazogan two oni fleeing, while being watched from a window by a lady-in-waiting; signed "seiryoken hagiya katsuhira".
Hilly dune landscape with some hunters with dogs and other figures on or along a country road.
Landscape with a hunter and other figures
Hilly landscape with figures. River landscape with three resting women in the foreground, on the other side of a rapids stand two men. In the distance a hill with some buildings,
Landscape with figures
Study sheet with Madonna, holy women, angels and figures from the Adoration of the Shepherds.
Study sheet with Madonna, saints, angels and figures from the Adoration of the Shepherds
Italian landscape with figures. A woman on a donkey has a chat with a shepherd and a woman resting with a large pitcher. On the right a man with a mule and dog.
Italian landscape with figures
Florentine street scene with twelve figures. Cityscape with travelers standing at the intersection of two streets, probably in Florence. Formerly interpreted as harboring travelers, one of the seven works of mercy.
Florentine street scene with twelve figures
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
Interesting fact
A Connecticut Toy maker, Herobuilders, sells action figures of President George W. Bush, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, which are all major figures tied to the September 11, 2001 WTC attacks
  1. Figuration
    (Mus) Mixture of concords and discords.
  2. Figuration
    The act of giving figure or determinate form; determination to a certain form.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
Interesting fact
By the time you turn 70, your heart will have beat some two-and-a-half billion times (figuring on an average of 70 beats per minute.)
  1. (n) figuration
    Formation as to figure or outline; external conformation; determination to a certain form: as, the figuration of crystals.
  2. (n) figuration
    The act or process of figuring; a shaping into form, or a marking or impressing with a figure or figures.
  3. (n) figuration
    In music: In strict composition, such as fugue-writing, the introduction of passing-notes into the counterpoint
  4. (n) figuration
    In general composition, the process, act, or result of rhythmically, melodically, or contrapuntally varying or elaborating a theme by adding passing-notes or accompaniment figures, or even by transforming single tones into florid passages
  5. (n) figuration
    The preparation of a figured bass (which see. under bass).
  6. (n) figuration
    In phillol., change in the form of words without change of sense.
  7. (n) figuration
    Figurative representation; prefiguration.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
Interesting fact
In 1908, figure skating became the first winter sport to be included in the Olympics.
  1. (n) Figuration
    act of giving figure or form:
  2. (n) Figuration
    (mus.) mixture of chords and discords
Quotations
Muhammad Ali
I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.
Muhammad Ali
Walter Lippmann
Between ourselves and our real natures we interpose that wax figure of idealizations and selections which we call our character.
Walter Lippmann
The person who figures out how to harness the collective genius of his or her organization is going to blow the competition away.
Walter Wriston
If you really want something you can figure out how to make it happen.
Cher
Initially I wanted to be Muhammad Ali. But then I got into a fight and I got my butt kicked, so I figured I could choose something else.
Babyface
Sydney Smith
Oh, don't tell me of facts -- I never believe facts: you know Canning said nothing was so fallacious as facts, except figures.
Sydney Smith
Idioms

Ballpark figure - A ballpark figure is a rough or approximate number (guesstimate) to give a general idea of something, like a rough estimate for a cost, etc.

Father figure - A father figure is an older man, often in a position of power or authority, who commands great respect and inspires feelings like those for a father.

Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary L. figuratio,

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary Fr.,—L. figura, fingĕre, to form.

Usage in the news

Figures show struggle worsening for single mothers. blog.chron.com

Census figures alone make clear this isn't a voting bloc that can be written off. latimes.com

They are like figures in a piece of Pop art: blandly good-looking in a generic sort of way, devoid of surface idiosyncracy though possibly seething within. nytimes.com

As I make my way down to New Orleans, I figured I'd check in and let you know that the Detroit Lions are as healthy as they've been in some time as Saturday night's wild-card game against the Saints approaches. espn.go.com

It's hard to figure how many miracles — at least the way miracles are defined in sport — teams are allowed in a given tournament. independentmail.com

A novel portrayal of an infamous figure. christiancentury.org

So we've passed the halfway mark of the regular season now, and Week 5 was mighty revealing in figuring out what's what in terms of the playoffs. kcchronicle.com

Starting in October, a huge botnet will be run not by nefarious underground figures but by the Energy Department's Sandia National Laboratories. gcn.com

Scientists are still trying to figure out what beauty means to people. cnn.com

Tufts wrote "The Art of Handbell Ringing" in the early 1960s and became a nationally recognized figure in the field. ashingtonpost.com

Sophomore Ryan Sabin was 4-of-6 from three-point range for 12 points, one of five Lakers to reach double-figures in Monday's win over Michigan-Dearborn. mlive.com

Some of the most recognizable sports figures in Wisconsin will pair up with the world's best LPGA players to tee-off at Blackwolf Run on the opening day of US Women's Open Championship Week, July 2, 2012. 620wtmj.com

They mean that, both literally and figuratively. catskillmountainnews.com

"Two Figures" by Isaac AlaridPease. alibi.com

I fancied I cut quite a figure in the Halls of Ivy. easthamptonstar.com

Usage in scientific papers

Thus for xsd < 1.7747, the upstream side corresponds to an asymptotic inflow far from the centre (solution 3 of Figure 9) and for xsd > 1.7747, the upstream side corresponds to an asymptotic outflow (wind) far from the centre (solution 1 of Figure 9).
Self-Similar Polytropic Champagne Flows in H II Regions

We reparametrize again to introduce additional 2-paths, which are thickened 1-paths, constant horizontally (e.g. ˆγij in Figure 2 or constant vertically (e.g. γik in Figure 2), or thickened points, constant both horizontally and vertically (pijkl in Figure 2).
A Cubical Set Approach to 2-Bundles with Connection and Wilson Surfaces

The spectra for the regions of different surface emissivity apparent in Figure 1 are plotted separately in Figure 3. A dim rectangular region A and a bright dot D1 indicated in Figure 1 have drastically different spectra above 0.1 keV in the model.
Dots, clumps and filaments: the intermittent images of synchrotron emission in random magnetic fields of young supernova remnants

Simulations of the expected value the spectral distribution for various finite random trees are shown in Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3.
Spectra of large random trees

Figure 6.2 shows the average of the sysRatio ρ as a function of k where in Figure 6.2(A) we used Gzip as the compressor that estimates the Kolmogorov complexity and in Figure 6.2 (B) we used the PPM algorithm as compressor.
Random scattering of bits by prediction

Usage in literature

It was Austin Turold who caused a diversion in this group of lay figures by walking to the table and helping himself to a whisky-and-soda. "The Moon Rock" by Arthur J. Rees

Stockton seemed to Inez a gallant figure. "Port O' Gold" by Louis John Stellman

Besides, I asked one of the leading doctors at Varallo whether the figure was man or woman. "The Humour of Homer and Other Essays" by Samuel Butler

Berlioz is another figure of a bold innovator, whose career seemed a series of failures, yet whose music will not down. "Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies" by Philip H. Goepp

I figure that in just one thousand years I can read hieroglyphics without a pony. "The Art Of The Moving Picture" by Vachel Lindsay

Facts and figures from publications may be copied for future use. "How To Write Special Feature Articles" by Willard Grosvenor Bleyer

Young Scott followed his figure with his eyes until it disappeared in the crowd. "The Forest of Swords" by Joseph A. Altsheler

The boy soon saw two figures upon the hill, the shapes of horse and man, outlined in black against the sun, which was now declining in the west. "The Texan Scouts" by Joseph A. Altsheler

He was at once a powerful and sinister figure. "The Texan Star" by Joseph A. Altsheler

There, in every point, was the figure he had vainly sought for his picture, and it was almost in the right pose. "His Masterpiece" by Emile Zola

Usage in poetry
Leads to wealth he said 'twould lead to.
Soon are gather'd there whole races,
Their relationship to show him.
And as great-grandfather, nobly
Stands Jamblika's youthful figure.
A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,
A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl
Make him the quaint great figure that men love,
The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.
Then as the Lilies turn to red
Dipped in the battles' wine
Another picture is outspread
Where still the figures shine--
The picture of a deadly fray
Worthy the pencil of Vernet!
Half-wrapp'd in mist I see thy figure move,
O'er thy pale cheek appears its wonted smile;
With lunar lustre beam those looks of love,
That once could life of ev'ry care beguile:
And to me, though Time's unflinching rigour,
In mindless rote, has ruled from sight
The substance now, one phantom figure
Remains on the slope, as when that night
Saw us alight.
What anguish rankled 'neath that silent breast?
What spectral figures mocked those staring eyes,
Luring them on to Stygian mysteries?
What overpowering sense of grief distressed?