form

The story

1. Latin · derived fromfōrma“shape, figure, image, outline, plan, mold, frame, case, etc., manner, sort, kind, etc.”
2. Old French · derived fromforme
3. Middle English · inherited fromforme“shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, seat, condition, agreement, etc.”
4. English todayform

From Middle English forme (“shape, figure, manner, bench, frame, seat, condition, agreement, etc.”), borrowed from Old French forme, from Latin fōrma (“shape, figure, image, outline, plan, mold, frame, case, etc., manner, sort, kind, etc.”). In sense "division grouping school students" (now dated), derived from public school nomenclature later adopted by state schools. It is sometimes said to be from the sense of "bench", where students of certain ages would sit together, though this is disputed, or alternatively from the sense of "established method of expression or practice".

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1550s A numbered division grouping school students (usually every two years) in education between Years 1 and 13 (often preceded by an ordinal number to specify the form, as in sixth form).