the.com/formality
The art of making everyone equally uncomfortable in the name of respect.
means A rule of correct behavior or official procedure followed to show respect, mark an occasion, or satisfy convention — often without much feeling behind it.
from From Latin 'formalitas,' built on 'forma,' meaning 'shape' or 'form.' The idea is literal: formality is behavior poured into a fixed mold rather than left to flow naturally. It passed through French into English by the 1400s-1500s, carrying that same sense of adherence to proper shape — the correct outline of conduct, whether or not any warmth fills it in.
- origin
- from Latin formalitas, meaning adherence to form
- paradox
- often required precisely when sincerity is absent
- legal use
- a formality means the outcome was never in doubt
- social cost
- signals distance disguised as politeness