a set form of words, as for stating or declaring something definitely or authoritatively, for indicating procedure to be followed, or for prescribed use on some ceremonial occasion.
2.
any fixed or conventional method for doing something: His mystery stories were written according to a popular formula.
3.
Mathematics.
a.
a rule or principle, frequently expressed in algebraic symbols.
a recipe or prescription: a new formula for currant wine.
6.
a special nutritive mixture, esp. of milk, sugar, and water, in prescribed proportions for feeding a baby.
7.
a formal statement of religious doctrine.
8.
(initial capital letter) a set of specifications as to weight, engine displacement, fuel capacity, etc., for defining a class of racing cars (usually followed by a limiting numerical designation): Some races are open to Formula One cars.
[Origin: 1575–85; < L: register, form, rule. See form, -ule]
An established form of words or symbols for use in a ceremony or procedure.
An utterance of conventional notions or beliefs; a hackneyed expression.
A symbolic representation of the composition or of the composition and structure of a compound.
The compound so represented.
A prescription of ingredients in fixed proportion; a recipe.
A liquid food for infants, containing most of the nutrients in human milk.
A method of doing or treating something that relies on an established, uncontroversial model or approach: a new situation comedy that simply uses an old formula.
Chemistry
A symbolic representation of the composition or of the composition and structure of a compound.
The compound so represented.
A prescription of ingredients in fixed proportion; a recipe.
A liquid food for infants, containing most of the nutrients in human milk.
A prescription of ingredients in fixed proportion; a recipe.
A liquid food for infants, containing most of the nutrients in human milk.
Mathematics A statement, especially an equation, of a fact, rule, principle, or other logical relation.
FormulaSports A set of specifications, including engine displacement, fuel capacity, and weight, that determine a class of racing car.
1638, from L. formula "form, rule, method, formula," lit. "small form," dim. of forma "form." Originally, "words used in a ceremony or ritual." Modern sense is colored by Carlyle's use of the word for "rule slavishly followed without understanding" (1837). Formulaic is from 1882; formulate is 1860.
"Men who try to speak what they believe, are naked men fighting men quilted sevenfold in formulae." [Charles Kingsley, "Letters," 1861]
a conventionalized statement expressing some fundamental principle
4.
a representation of a substance using symbols for its constituent elements
5.
something regarded as a normative example; "the convention of not naming the main character"; "violence is the rule not the exception"; "his formula for impressing visitors" [syn: convention]
6.
a liquid food for infants
7.
(mathematics) a standard procedure for solving a class of mathematical problems; "he determined the upper bound with Descartes' rule of signs"; "he gave us a general formula for attacking polynomials" [syn: rule]
A set of symbols showing the composition of a chemical compound. A formula lists the elements contained within it and indicates the number of atoms of each element with a subscript numeral if the number is more than 1. For example, H2O is the formula for water, where H2 indicates two atoms of hydrogen and O indicates one atom of oxygen.
A set of symbols expressing a mathematical rule or principle. For example, the formula for the area of a rectangle is a = lw, where a is the area, l the length, and w the width.
formula 1. In logic, a sequence of symbols representing terms, predicates, connectives and quantifiers which is either true or false. 2. FORTH Music Language. An extension of FORTH with concurrent note-playing processes. Runs on Macintosh and Atari ST with MIDI output. ["Formula: A Programming Language for Expressive Computer Music", D.P. Anderson et al Computer 24(7):12 (Jul 1991)]. 3. Preprocessor language for the Acorn Archimedes, allowing inline high-level statements to be entered in an assembly program. Written in nawk.
Em*pir"ic\, Empirical \Em*pir"ic*al\, a. 1. Pertaining to, or founded upon, experiment or experience; depending upon the observation of phenomena; versed in experiments. In philosophical language, the term empirical means simply what belongs to or is the product of experience or observation. --Sir W. Hamilton. The village carpenter . . . lays out his work by empirical rules learnt in his apprenticeship. --H. Spencer. 2. Depending upon experience or observation alone, without due regard to science and theory; -- said especially of medical practice, remedies, etc.; wanting in science and deep insight; as, empiric skill, remedies. Empirical formula. (Chem.) See under Formula. Syn: See Transcendental.
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