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-form

Also ‑iform.

Having a specified form or number of forms.

Latin forma, a mould or form.

This ending is active in English and frequently forms adjectives in botany and zoology that describe the shape of a plant or animal or some part of it. Though the spelling is strictly ‑form because of the Latin original, adjectives created using it usually have a i before the ending (see ‑i‑). A selection of varying application is given in the list below.

Verbs in ‑form, including form itself, are from Latin formare, to form (based on forma); hence conform, deform, inform, reform, and transform. An exception is terraform, to make a planet more like Earth, from Latin terra, earth, plus the English verb form. However, perform is from Old French par, through or to completion, plus fournir, to furnish or provide.

Nouns in ‑form are from a variety of sources and similarly are not examples of the combining form: chloroform is from chloro‑ plus the first part of formic acid; platform comes from the French plateforme, a ground plan (literally a flat shape); landform and microform both derive from the English noun form.

Examples of words in -form
All word sources are from Latin unless otherwise stated.

Relating to animal or plant shapes:

coliform

belonging to a set of rod-shaped bacteria typified by Escherichia coli

coli, of the colon, since such bacteria are common in the gastrointestinal tract

cribriform

having an anatomical structure pierced by holes, such as the spinnerets of some kinds of spiders

cribrum, sieve

filiform

thread-like

filum, thread

spongiform

having a porous structure resembling that of a sponge

from sponge

vermiform

resembling a worm

vermis, a worm

Indicating a number of forms or parts:

multiform

existing in many forms

multus, much or many

uniform

all of one kind or form

unus, one

variform

of a group of things that vary from one another in form

varius, diverse

Other examples:

cirriform

of the form of clouds composed of ice crystals, such as cirrus

cirrus, a curl

cruciform

having the shape of a cross

crux, cross

cuneiform

the wedge-shaped characters used in some ancient Middle-East writing systems; in anatomy and biology, something wedge-shaped

cuneus, wedge

stratiform

arranged in layers

stratum, something strewn or laid down

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