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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
Matt Robison, Newsweek, 18 Feb. 2025
Sampling the breadth and depth of Pan-African aesthetics, these 13 effigies form a mini exhibition all their own.
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A second show-within-the-show is a wall of small artworks hung salon-style, as if in a Pan-African living room.
—Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025
The almost five-foot-long wooden effigy symbolizes the importance of the salt cod industry to the area.
—Kim Foley MacKinnon, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
For unknown reasons, black vultures are repelled by the sight of a black vulture effigy, a dead or fake black vulture image displayed near the roof top, at the top of a tree, or at the highest spot possible next to the roosting area, says Owen.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for effigy
Cite this Entry
“Effigy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effigy. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
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effigy
noun
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