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gestalt

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ge⋅stalt

  [guh-shtahlt, -shtawlt, -stahlt, -stawlt]
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–noun, plural -stalts, -stal⋅ten  [-shtahl-tn, -shtawl-, -stahl-, -stawl-] . (sometimes initial capital letter) Psychology.
1. a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.
2. an instance or example of such a unified whole.
Origin:
1920–25; < G: figure, form, structure
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ge·stalt or Ge·stalt   (gə-shtält', -shtôlt', -stält', -stôlt')   
n.   pl. ge·stalts or Ge·stalts or ge·stalt·en or Ge·stalt·en (-shtält'n, -shtôlt'n, -stält'n, -stôlt'n)
A physical, biological, psychological, or symbolic configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that its properties cannot be derived from a simple summation of its parts.

[German, shape, from Middle High German, from past participle of stellen, to place, from Old High German; see stel- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Gestalt 
1922, from Ger. Gestaltqualität (1890, introduced by Ger. philosopher Christian von Ehrenfels, 1859-1932), from M.H.G. gestalt "form, configuration, appearance," abstracted from ungestalt "deformity," noun use of adj. ungestalt "misshapen," from gestalt, obsolete pp. of stellen "to place, arrange." As a school of psychology, it was founded c.1912.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ge·stalt
Pronunciation: g&-'s(h)tält, -'s(h)tolt
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ge·stalt·en /-&n/ or gestalts
: a structure, arrangement, or pattern of physical, biological, or psychological phenomena so integrated as to constitute afunctional unit with properties not derivable by summation of its parts
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

gestalt ge·stalt or Ge·stalt (gə-shtält', -shtôlt', -stält', -stôlt')
n. pl. ge·stalts or ge·stalt·en (-shtält'n, -shtôlt'n, -stält'n, -stôlt'n)
A physical, biological, psychological, or symbolic configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that its properties cannot be derived from a simple summation of its parts. Also called gestalt phenomenon.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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