Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - formula

 I. noun  (plural -las or ~e)  Etymology: Latin, diminutive of forma form  Date: 1618  1.  a. a set form of words for use in a ceremony or ritual  b. a conventionalized statement intended to express some fundamental truth or principle especially as a basis for negotiation or action  2.  a.  (1) recipe  (2) prescription  b. a milk mixture or substitute for feeding an infant  3.  a. a general fact, rule, or principle expressed in usually mathematical symbols  b. a symbolic expression of the chemical composition or constitution of a substance  c. a group of symbols (as letters and numbers) associated to express facts or data (as the number and kinds of teeth in the jaw) concisely  d. a combination of signs in a logical calculus  4. a customary or set form or method allowing little room for originality  • ~ic adjective  • ~ically adverb  II. adjective  Date: 1951 of, relating to, or being an open-wheel open-cockpit rear-engine racing car conforming to prescribed specifications as to size, weight, and engine displacement