To form is to create an element which groups other elements.
A form is an element which groups other elements.
Formal is a trait of relationships which have been strictly grouped, often according to official standards.
Form is a basic and extremely flexible concept in Modular Organizing Terminology. Forms include all sets, networks, systems and collectives.
Forms can group elements which are either actual or potential within a specific context.
Forms can emerge unintentionally, with or without activity by agents. Forms can also be designed by agents to frame potential elements.
Forms can include one or more specific groups of elements. Forms which contain groups might or might not be identified as the sum, or the product of those specific groups.
A specific instance or type of element can be described as an element or as a form, depending on context and scale of perception/ perspective such as specific hierarchical level.
A form must be usefully stable within one or more contexts. However, those contexts may be identified physically, conceptually or experientially. For example, physical contexts have spacetime scale, within which forms can be identified by potential participant agents and/or sensing tools.
Physical forms can be perceived as particles, intervals, waves or fields at different levels of detail. Instances of those types of form can variably be experienced as fluid or solid at different scales of organization.
Fluid forms often last briefly. For example, an identifiably shaped gust (four dimensional waveform) of wind could last a few seconds. However, fluid forms also can endure indefinitely if sustained by repeated inputs of energy. For example, a stretch of rapids on a river, or an oceanic whirlpool, could last for decades or centuries.
Solid forms can also last briefly. For example, a snowflake could melt a few seconds after landing on a warm surface. However, solid forms can last long periods in the absence of intensely or persistently creative/destructive energy. For example, a mountain could endure (while slowly eroding) for millions of years.
Conceptual forms often can have analogies to physical solidity and fluidity.
Forms often function as elements in large-scope models (or overviews) with low levels of detail. For instance, snowflakes and mountains often function as conceptual elements, despite being clearly identifiable as (complex) forms.
build, construct, structure
Specialized Definitions
Structure often especially means the networking of physical elements.
Within that context, a structure is a specific network of physical elements.
A building often especially means a non-portable network of physical elements.
Structure also often implies designed structure in some contexts. However, it's also used broadly to indicate emergent structures.