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The word form as in "web form" or in my case "XML form" would be translated as Formular in German and formulaire in French. Which leads me to the question, though the entry of Wiktionary and Etymonline seems to point to the contrary, has it ever been an abbreviation of a longer word? And if it is the case, is this longer word still in use? If not, is there better alternative to this word in the following example?

Please backup all the corresponding forms before applying the patch.

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up vote 5 down vote accepted

Form is not an abbreviation. According to etymonline.com, the meaning "a document with blanks to be filled in" is from 1855.

Note that the word formulary is a false friend. It means "a book listing medicinal substances and formulas" or "a collection of prescribed forms (as oaths or prayers)". It is not the English word for Formular (German), formulaire (French), formulário (Portuguese) and formulario (Spanish). All these words are actually translated to English as "form".

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