From Latin 'fōrmālis' (relating to form) — the Scholastic contrast of form vs. substance pervades modern usage of the word.
(Adjective) Done in accordance with established rules, conventions, or ceremony; relating to the outward form or structure of something rather than its content; (noun) an evening dress or a social event requiring evening dress.
From Latin "formālis" ("of or pertaining to form"), from "forma" ("shape, figure, mold, pattern, beauty"), a word of uncertain ultimate etymology but possibly from Greek "μορφή" (morphḗ, "form, shape") by metathesis (reordering of sounds from *morph- to *form-), or from Etruscan. If the Greek connection holds, it may trace to PIE *merbʰ- or *merdʰ- ("to grasp, to seize" → "that which is seized or apprehended" → "shape"). Latin "forma" generated an enormous derivative family: "formāre" ("to form, to shape"), "fōrmula" ("a small pattern," yielding
The philosophical distinction between 'formal' and 'material' — derived from Aristotle's four causes — profoundly shaped the English language. A 'formal' objection is about procedure (the form of the process); a 'material' objection is about substance (the matter at issue). 'Formal logic' studies the form of arguments regardless of content. A 'formal garden