3  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Formula  \For"mu*la\,  n.;  pl  E.  {Formulas},  L.  {Formul[ae]}. 
  [L.,  dim.  of  forma  form  model.  See{Form},  n.] 
  1.  A  prescribed  or  set  form  an  established  rule  a  fixed  or 
  conventional  method  in  which  anything  is  to  be  done 
  arranged,  or  said 
 
  2.  (Eccl.)  A  written  confession  of  faith;  a  formal  statement 
  of  foctrines 
 
  3.  (Math.)  A  rule  or  principle  expressed  in  algebraic 
  language;  as  the  binominal  formula. 
 
  4.  (Med.)  A  prescription  or  recipe  for  the  preparation  of  a 
  medicinal  compound. 
 
  5.  (Chem.)  A  symbolic  expression  (by  means  of  letters, 
  figures,  etc.)  of  the  constituents  or  constitution  of  a 
  compound. 
 
  Note:  Chemical  formul[ae]  consist  of  the  abbreviations  of  the 
  names  of  the  elements,  with  a  small  figure  at  the  lower 
  right  hand,  to  denote  the  number  of  atoms  of  each 
  element  contained. 
 
  {Empirical  formula}  (Chem.),  an  expression  which  gives  the 
  simple  proportion  of  the  constituents;  as  the  empirical 
  formula  of  acetic  acid  is  {C2H4O2}. 
 
  {Graphic  formula},  {Rational  formula}  (Chem.),  an  expression 
  of  the  constitution,  and  in  a  limited  sense  of  the 
  structure,  of  a  compound,  by  the  grouping  of  its  atoms  or 
  radicals;  as  a  rational  formula  of  acetic  acid  is 
  {CH3.(C:O).OH};  --  called  also  {structural  formula}, 
  {constitutional  formula},  etc  See  also  the  formula  of 
  {Benzene  nucleus},  under  {Benzene}. 
 
  {Molecular  formula}  (Chem.),  a  formula  indicating  the 
  supposed  molecular  constitution  of  a  compound. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  formula 
  n  1:  a  group  of  symbols  that  make  a  mathematical  statement  [syn: 
  {expression}] 
  2:  directions  for  making  something  [syn:  {recipe}] 
  3:  a  conventionalized  statement  expressing  some  fundamental 
  principle 
  4:  a  representation  of  a  substance  using  symbols  for  its 
  constituent  elements  [syn:  {chemical  formula}] 
  5:  something  regarded  as  a  normative  example;  "the  convention 
  of  not  naming  the  main  character";  "violence  is  the  rule 
  not  the  exception";  "his  formula  for  impressing  visitors" 
  [syn:  {convention},  {normal},  {pattern},  {rule}] 
  6:  a  liquid  food  for  infants 
  7:  (mathematics)  a  standard  procedure  for  solving  a  class  of 
  problems;  "he  determined  the  upper  bound  with  Descartes' 
  rule  of  signs";  "he  gave  us  a  general  formula  for 
  attacking  polynomials"  [syn:  {rule}] 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  formula 
 
  1.  In  logic,  a  sequence  of  symbols  representing  terms, 
  {predicate}s,  {connective}s  and  {quantifier}s  which  is  either 
  true  or  false. 
 
  2.    FORTH  Music  Language.  An  extension  of 
  {FORTH}  with  concurrent  note-playing  processes.  Runs  on 
  {Macintosh}  and  {Atari  ST}  with  {MIDI}  output. 
 
  ["Formula:  A  Programming  Language  for  Expressive  Computer 
  Music",  D.P.  Anderson  et  al  Computer  24(7):12  (Jul  1991)]. 
 
  3.  Preprocessor  language  for  the  {Acorn  Archimedes},  allowing 
  inline  high-level  statements  to  be  entered  in  an  assembly 
  program.  Written  in  {nawk}. 
 
 

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