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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
Chad De Guzman, TIME, 25 July 2024
One American flag was set ablaze under an effigy of Netanyahu.
—Stefan Becket, CBS News, 25 July 2024
There were reports of roughly 20,000 mounds, including effigy and conical, that were built across Wisconsin.
—Vanessa Swales, Journal Sentinel, 16 Oct. 2024
Each effigy contained a man’s skull that was painted with scenes depicting the final stages of his life.
—George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for effigy 
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Cite this Entry
“Effigy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effigy. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.
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effigy
noun
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