Latin diminutive of 'fōrma' — literally a 'little form,' from exact Roman legal patterns to compact scientific expressions.
A mathematical relationship or rule expressed in symbols; a fixed form of words used in particular contexts; a list of ingredients and instructions for making something; a method or procedure for achieving something.
From Latin "formula" (a small form, rule, pattern, legal formula), diminutive of "forma" (form, shape, mould, beauty), of disputed etymology — possibly from Greek "μορφή" (morphḗ, form, shape) by metathesis, or from an Etruscan source. The diminutive suffix "-ula" indicates a small or specific instance of a form: a formula is a little form, a template, a fixed pattern. Latin "forma" produced one of the richest word families in English: "form," "formal," "format," "reform" (re-shape), "inform" (give form to the mind), "uniform" (one form), "conform" (form together), "deform" (un-shape), "perform" (carry through a form), and "transform" (change form). If the Greek "μορφή" connection
In Roman law, legal proceedings required exact verbal formulas. If a plaintiff used the wrong word — even a synonym — the case could be thrown out. These rigid 'formulae' were the templates of Roman justice. When scientists adopted the word in the seventeenth century, they preserved this sense of a compact, exact, invariable pattern — a tiny form that captures a universal truth