formality
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French formalité. equivalent to formal + -ity.
Pronunciation[edit]
- Rhymes: -ælɪti
Noun[edit]
formality (countable and uncountable, plural formalities)
- (uncountable) The state of being formal.
- 1874, Georg August Schweinfurth, chapter I, in Ellen E. Frewer, transl., The Heart of Africa: Three Years' Travels and Adventures in the Unexplored Regions of Central Africa, from 1868 to 1871[1], second edition, volume I, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, And Searle, translation of Im Herzen von Afrika, Botanical Ardour:
- [S]uch an one […] recalls as a vision of Paradise the land he has learnt to love; he exaggerates the insalubrity of a northern climate; he bewails the wretched formality of our civilised life, and so, back to the distant solitudes flies his recollection like a dove to the wilderness.
- Something said or done as a matter of form.
- A customary ritual without substance, real consequence, or unique meaning.
- The examination for priesthood is no mere formality, so we have to study well.
- (countable) A specific requirement for obtaining a legal status, conducting a transaction, etc.
Translations[edit]
The state of being formal
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Something said or done as a matter of form
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A customary ritual without new or unique meaning
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specific requirement
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading[edit]
- “formality”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “formality”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.