Figuric

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to figures, images or symbolic representation rather than literal description
2. Having to do with depicted forms, shapes or figurative imagery instead of plain statement
3. Describing something connected with figurative or pictorial representation of forms

Etymology: The root of this word is "figure," which comes from Latin "figura," meaning a shape or form. That Latin noun derives from "fingere," "to shape, form, or mold," so the same ancient idea of shaping clay sits behind "figure" and behind "fiction" and "feign." A figure was first something made or formed, and only later a drawn shape, a number, or a human form. The ending "-ic" comes from Greek "-ikos," which English uses to turn nouns into adjectives meaning "relating to" or "having the nature of." Attaching it to "figure" gives an adjective for what concerns figures in the sense of shapes, symbols, or representations. Because the suffix is so productive, this kind of adjective is usually a transparent coinage rather than a word with a dramatic history of its own.