entry
configuration
/kənˌfɪɡjəˈreɪʃən/Arrangement of parts forming a particular shape or system
From Latin con- (with) + Latin figura (shape).
from Middle French configuration
Word Ancestry
from Middle French configuration
Picture a craftsman arranging separate pieces until they become one recognizable design: that is the visual idea packed into configuration. Latin supplied the two-part toolkit—con-, “together,” and figura, “shape” or “form”—which joined in configurare, “to fashion after a pattern.” By the 1550s, English configuration could describe the outward shape produced by arranging parts, a meaning that later fit machines, political systems, software settings, and even constellations. The word’s close cousin figure still points to a shape, while configure preserves the hands-on verb: to arrange something so it works or looks a certain way. “Gestalt” reaches a similar destination by a different road—German for “form” became the name of a psychological whole that seems greater than its pieces. So configuration is, at heart, a meeting of parts: con- brings them together, and figura gives the gathering a shape.
The Story
Picture a craftsman arranging separate pieces until they become one recognizable design: that is the visual idea packed into configuration. Latin supplied the two-part toolkit—con-, “together,” and figura, “shape” or “form”—which joined in configurare, “to fashion after a pattern.” By the 1550s, English configuration could describe the outward shape produced by arranging parts, a meaning that later fit machines, political systems, software settings, and even constellations. The word’s close cousin figure still points to a shape, while configure preserves the hands-on verb: to arrange something so it works or looks a certain way. “Gestalt” reaches a similar destination by a different road—German for “form” became the name of a psychological whole that seems greater than its pieces. So configuration is, at heart, a meeting of parts: con- brings them together, and figura gives the gathering a shape.
Modern Usage
A person’s political alignment or ideological position
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry using “configuration” for left-wing or right-wing political identity
Kin & Kindred
From 'con-'·with, together
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'figura'·shape, form, figure
Derived Terms
English words from this root