different between pattern vs formation

English

Etymology

From earlier patten, paterne, from Middle English patron (“patron; example”), from Old French patron, from Medieval Latin patr?nus (“patron”). Doublet of patron.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?pat(?)n/, [?pa?(?)n]
• (US) IPA^(key): /?pæt??n/, [?pæ??n]
• Rhymes: -æt?(r)n

Noun

pattern (plural patterns)

1. Model, example.
   1. Something from which a copy is made; a model or outline. [from 14th c.]
      • 1923, ‘President Wilson’, Time, 18 Jun 1923:

        There is no reason why all colleges and universities should be cut to the same pattern.

   2. Someone or something seen as an example to be imitated; an exemplar. [from 15th c.]
      • 1793, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana, 19 March:

        Well! the King of France died pardoning & pitying all those who had tortured his Soul & Body, a great Pattern for us all.

      • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.16:

        The Platonic Socrates was a pattern to subsequent philosophers for many ages.

   3. (now rare) A copy. [from 15th c.]
   4. (now only numismatics) A sample; of coins, an example which was struck but never minted. [from 16th c.]
   5. A representative example. [from 16th c.]
   6. (US) The material needed to make a piece of clothing. [from 17th c.]
   7. (textiles) The paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric prior to cutting out and assembling.
   8. (metalworking, dated) A full-sized model around which a mould of sand is made, to receive the melted metal. It is usually made of wood and in several parts, so as to be removed from the mould without damage.
   9. (computing) A text string containing wildcards, used for matching.

      There were no files matching the pattern *.txt.

2. Coherent or decorative arrangement.
   1. A design, motif or decoration, especially formed from regular repeated elements. [from 16th c.]
      • 2003, Valentino, ‘Is there a future in fashion's past?’, Time, 5 Feb 2003:

        On my way to work the other day, I stopped at a church in Rome and saw a painting of the Madonna. The subtle pattern of blues and golds in the embroidery of her dress was so amazing that I used it to design a new evening dress for my haute couture.

   2. A naturally-occurring or random arrangement of shapes, colours etc. which have a regular or decorative effect. [from 19th c.]
      • 2011, Rachel Cooke, The Observer, 19 Jun 2011:

        He lifted the entire joint or fowl up into the air, speared on a carving fork, and sliced pieces off it so that they fell on the plate below in perfectly organised patterns.

   3. The given spread, range etc. of shot fired from a gun. [from 19th c.]
   4. A particular sequence of events, facts etc. which can be understood, used to predict the future, or seen to have a mathematical, geometric, statistical etc. relationship. [from 19th c.]
      • 1980, ‘Shifting Targets’, Time, 6 Oct 1980:

        The three killings pointed to an ugly new shift in the enduring pattern of violence in Northern Ireland: the mostly Protestant Ulster police, or those suspected of affiliation with them, have become more prominent targets for the I.R.A. than the British troops.

      • 2003, Kate Hudson, The Guardian, 14 Aug 2003:

        Look again at how the US and its allies behaved then, and the pattern is unmistakable.

   5. (linguistics) An intelligible arrangement in a given area of language.
   6. (computing, music) A sequence of notes, percussion etc. in a tracker module, usable once or many times within the song.

Synonyms

• (1): original
• (1): stencil
• (2): tessellation
• (3): category
• (4): cycle
• (5): similarity
• See also Thesaurus:model

Antonyms

• antipattern

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

pattern (third-person singular simple present patterns, present participle patterning, simple past and past participle patterned)

1. To apply a pattern.
2. To make or design (anything) by, from, or after, something that serves as a pattern; to copy; to model; to imitate.
   • 1638, Sir Thomas Herbert, Some Yeares Travels into Africa and Asia the Great

     [A temple] patterned […] from that which Adam reared in Paradise.

3. To follow an example.
4. To fit into a pattern.
5. (transitive) To serve as an example for.

Synonyms

• model
• categorize

Translations

References

• pattern on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• reptant

English

Etymology

From Middle English formacioun, formation, borrowed from Old French formacion, from Latin f?rm?ti?, from f?rm? (“form”, verb); see form as verb.Morphologically form +? -ation

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e???n
• (US) IPA^(key): /f??.?me?.??n/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /f?(?).?me?.??n/
• Hyphenation: for?ma?tion

Noun

formation (countable and uncountable, plural formations)

1. The act of assembling a group or structure. [from 14th c.]
   • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Some cloud formation was confirmed and rainfall was observed over some islands.

2. Something possessing structure or form. [from 17th c.]
3. The process during which something comes into being and gains its characteristics. [from 18th c.]
4. (military) A grouping of military units or smaller formations under a command, such as a brigade, division, wing, etc. [from 18th c.]
5. (geology) A layer of rock of common origin. [from 19th c.]
6. (military) An arrangement of moving troops, ships, or aircraft, such as a wedge, line abreast, or echelon. Often "in formation".
7. (sports) An arrangement of players designed to facilitate certain plays.
8. The process of influencing or guiding a person to a deeper understanding of a particular vocation.
9. (category theory) 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.

Related terms

• form

Translations

Further reading

• “form?ci?un, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• James A. H. Murray [et al.], editors (1884–1928) , “Formation”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume IV (F–G), London: Clarendon Press, OCLC 15566697, page 464, column 1.
• formation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• formation in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Etymology

From Old French formacion, borrowed from Latin f?rm?ti?, f?rm?ti?nem. Cf. also the archaic formaison.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f??.ma.sj??/

Noun

formation f (plural formations)

1. formation, forming, development
2. education; training

3. (military) formation

Derived terms

• autoformation

Related terms

• forme

Further reading

• “formation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Swedish

Etymology

From Latin formatio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /f?rma??u?n/

Noun

formation c

1. formation

Declension

References

• formation in Svensk ordbok (SO)