formalist

See also: Formalist

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

English formal

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)

Proto-Hellenic *-tās

Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs)

Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor.

Latin -istader.

Old French -istebor.

Middle English -ist

English -ist

English formalist

From formal + -ist.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈfɔɹml̩ˌɪst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

formalist (plural formalists)

1. An overly formal person, especially one who adheres to current forms; a stickler
   • 2017, Velvel Pasternak, Behind the Music, Stories, Anecdotes, Articles and Reflections, page 225:

     The Besht preached that the simple man, imbued with native faith and able to pray fervently and wholeheartedly with a sense of joy in his heart, was nearer and dearer to God than the learned but joyless formalist spending his whole life in the study of Talmud.

2. An advocate of formalism

Derived terms

• antiformalist
• neoformalist

Translations

overly formal person

• Catalan: formalista m or f
• Dutch: formalist (nl) m
• French: formaliste (fr) m
• German: Formalist m
• Polish: formalista (pl) m pers, formalistka (pl) f
• Portuguese: formalista (pt) m or f
• Russian: формали́ст (ru) m (formalíst)
• Spanish: formalista (es) m or f

advocate of formalism

• Catalan: formalista m or f
• French: formaliste (fr) m or f
• Polish: formalista (pl) m pers, formalistka (pl) f
• Spanish: formalista (es) m or f

Adjective

formalist (comparative more formalist, superlative most formalist)

1. Of or pertaining to formalism; formalistic

Derived terms

• formalistic

Related terms

• formalism

Translations

of or pertaining to formalism

• Catalan: formalista
• Dutch: formalistisch (nl)
• Finnish: formalistinen (fi)
• French: formaliste (fr)
• Polish: formalistyczny (pl)
• Romanian: formalist (ro) m
• Spanish: formalista (es)

Further reading

• “formalist”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “formalist”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• Raymond Williams (1983), “Formalist”, in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, revised American edition, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, published 1985, →ISBN, page 137.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: for‧ma‧list

Noun

formalist m (plural formalisten, diminutive formalistje n)

1. formalist

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French formaliste.

Adjective

formalist m or n (feminine singular formalistă, masculine plural formaliști, feminine/neuter plural formaliste)

1. formalistic

Declension

Declension of formalist

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	formalist		formalistă	formaliști	formaliste
	definite	formalistul		formalista	formaliștii	formalistele
genitive- dative	indefinite	formalist		formaliste	formaliști	formaliste
	definite	formalistului		formalistei	formaliștilor	formalistelor

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• formàlista (Bosnia, Serbia)

Etymology

From fȏrma.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /formǎlist/
• Hyphenation: for‧ma‧list

Noun

formàlist m anim (Cyrillic spelling форма̀лист)

1. formalist

Declension

Declension of formalist

	singular	plural
nominative	formalist	formalisti
genitive	formalista	formalista
dative	formalistu	formalistima
accusative	formalista	formaliste
vocative	formaliste	formalisti
locative	formalistu	formalistima
instrumental	formalistom	formalistima

References

• “formalist”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026