[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

formal \form"al\ f^orm"al, a. l. formalis: cf. f. formel.
   1. belonging to the form, shape, frame, external appearance,
      or organization of a thing.
      1913 webster

   2. belonging to the constitution of a thing, as distinguished
      from the matter composing it; having the power of making a
      thing what it is; constituent; essential; pertaining to or
      depending on the forms, so called, of the human intellect.
      1913 webster

            of the sounds represented by letters, the material
            part is breath and voice; the formal is constituted
            by the motion and figure of the organs of speech.
                                                  --holder.
      1913 webster

   3. done in due form, or with solemnity; according to regular
      method; not incidental, sudden or irregular; express; as,
      he gave his formal consent.
      1913 webster

            his obscure funeral . . .
            no noble rite nor formal ostentation. --shak.
      1913 webster

   4. devoted to, or done in accordance with, forms or rules;
      punctilious; regular; orderly; methodical; of a prescribed
      form; exact; prim; stiff; ceremonious; as, a man formal in
      his dress, his gait, his conversation.
      1913 webster

            a cold-looking, formal garden, cut into angles and
            rhomboids.                            --w. irwing.
      1913 webster

            she took off the formal cap that confined her hair.
                                                  --hawthorne.
      1913 webster

   5. having the form or appearance without the substance or
      essence; external; as, formal duty; formal worship; formal
      courtesy, etc.
      1913 webster

   6. dependent in form; conventional.
      1913 webster

            still in constraint your suffering sex remains,
            or bound in formal or in real chains. --pope.
      1913 webster

   7. sound; normal. obs.
      1913 webster

            to make of him a formal man again.    --shak.
      1913 webster

   formal cause. see under cause.

   syn: precise; punctilious; stiff; starched; affected; ritual;
        ceremonial; external; outward.

   usage: formal, ceremonious. when applied to things, these
          words usually denote a mere accordance with the rules
          of form or ceremony; as, to make a formal call; to
          take a ceremonious leave. when applied to a person or
          his manners, they are used in a bad sense; a person
          being called formal who shapes himself too much by
          some pattern or set form, and ceremonious when he lays
          too much stress on the conventional laws of social
          intercourse. formal manners render a man stiff or
          ridiculous; a ceremonious carriage puts a stop to the
          ease and freedom of social intercourse.
          1913 webster
see also:
formal cause cause formal ceremonious 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

cause \cause\ kaddz, n. f. cause, fr. l. causa. cf.
   cause, v., kickshaw.
   1. that which produces or effects a result; that from which
      anything proceeds, and without which it would not exist.
      1913 webster

            cause is substance exerting its power into act, to
            make one thing begin to be.           --locke.
      1913 webster

   2. that which is the occasion of an action or state; ground;
      reason; motive; as, cause for rejoicing.
      1913 webster

   3. sake; interest; advantage. obs.
      1913 webster

            i did it not for his cause.           --2 cor. vii.
                                                  12.
      1913 webster

   4. law a suit or action in court; any legal process by
      which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he
      regards as his right; case; ground of action.
      1913 webster

   5. any subject of discussion or debate; matter; question;
      affair in general.
      1913 webster

            what counsel give you in this weighty cause --shak.
      1913 webster

   6. the side of a question, which is espoused, advocated, and
      upheld by a person or party; a principle which is
      advocated; that which a person or party seeks to attain.
      1913 webster

            god befriend us, as our cause is just. --shak.
      1913 webster

            the part they take against me is from zeal to the
            cause.                                --burke.
      1913 webster

   efficient cause, the agent or force that produces a change
      or result.

   final cause, the end, design, or object, for which anything
      is done.

   formal cause, the elements of a conception which make the
      conception or the thing conceived to be what it is; or the
      idea viewed as a formative principle and cooperating with
      the matter.

   material cause, that of which anything is made.

   proximate cause. see under proximate.

   to make common cause with, to join with in purposes and
      aims. --macaulay.

   syn: origin; source; mainspring; motive; reason; incitement;
        inducement; purpose; object; suit; action.
        1913 webster
see also:
cause kickshaw efficient cause final cause formal cause material cause 
proximate cause proximate to make common cause with 

Cause >> C Words
Cause, definition of term: Cause
cause_pag1.html

Formal >> F Words
Formal, definition of term: Formal
formal_pag1.html

Formal Logic >> F Words
Formal Logic, definition of term: Formal Logic
formal+logic_pag1.html

Cause Harm >> C Words
Cause Harm, definition of term: Cause Harm
cause+harm_pag1.html

Cause Celebre >> C Words
Cause Celebre, definition of term: Cause Celebre
cause+celebre_pag1.html

Probable Cause >> P Words
Probable Cause, definition of term: Probable Cause
probable+cause_pag1.html

Efficient Cause >> E Words
Efficient Cause, definition of term: Efficient Cause
efficient+cause_pag1.html