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An earlier sense of effigy is "a likeness of a person shaped out of stone or other materials," so it's not surprising to learn that effigy derives, by way of Middle French, from the Latin effigies, which, in turn, comes from the verb effingere ("to form"), a combination of the prefix ex- and fingere, which means "to shape." Fingere is the common ancestor of a number of other English nouns that name things you can shape. A fiction is a story you shape with your imagination. Figments are shaped by the imagination, too; they're something you imagine or make up. A figure can be a numeral, a shape, or a picture that you shape as you draw or write.
Examples of effigy in a Sentence
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
Mounds can be found throughout the Midwest, but Wisconsin is known as the epicenter for the effigy mounds, according to researchers.
—Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2024
The tradition is centuries old and unique to the U.K., with some towns creating huge elaborate effigies of Guy Fawkes to be burned — sometimes instead building models of contemporary figures, including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
—Patrick Smith, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
In the past two weeks, I’ve been drenched by a water balloon while stepping out of the shower, found fake spiders in my coffee cup and opened our front door to discover what appeared to be a life-size effigy of the two little girls from The Shining staring at me.
—Remy Blumenfeld, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Effigy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effigy. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
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effigy
noun
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