formation

Meaning

Noun

• The act of assembling a group or structure.
• Something possessing structure or form.
• The process during which something comes into being and gains its characteristics.
• A grouping of military units or smaller formations under a command, such as a brigade, division, wing, etc.
• A layer of rock of common origin.
• An arrangement of moving troops, ships, or aircraft, such as a wedge, line abreast, or echelon. Often "in formation".
• An arrangement of players designed to facilitate certain plays.
• The process of influencing or guiding a person to a deeper understanding of a particular vocation.
• A structure made of two categories, two functors from the first to the second category, and a transformation from one of the functors to the other.

Origin

• From Middle English formacioun, formation, borrowed from Old French formacion, from Latin fōrmātiō, from fōrmō; see form as verb.
• Morphologically form + -ation