Meanings
nounformatrix (plural formatrixes or formatrices)
plural formatrixes · plural formatrices
- obsoleteA formative faculty.
By which laſt Obſervables, we ſee that there may be very pretty body ſhap’d and concreeted by Mechanical principles, without the leaſt ſhew or probability of any other ſeminal formatrix.
1665, R[obert] Hooke, “Obſerv[ation]. XX. Of blue Mould, and of the firſt Principles of Vegetation ariſing from Putrefaction.”, in Micrographia: Or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 130
Origin
- Late Latinfōrmātrīx
- Late Latinfōrmātrīx
- Englishformatrix
Learned borrowing from Late Latin fōrmātrīx. By surface analysis, form + -ate + -trix.
More words from Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
formatrix. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formatrix
MLA
“formatrix.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formatrix. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “formatrix,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/formatrix.
Source: formatrix on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.