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• gestalt
  gestalt

  noun

  a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.
• Gestalt
  Gestalt

  noun

  (sometimes not capital) a perceptual pattern or structure possessing qualities as a whole that cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts See also Gestalt psychology

gestalt

American  

[guh-shtahlt, -shtawlt, -stahlt, -stawlt] / gəˈʃtɑlt, -ˈʃtɔlt, -ˈstɑlt, -ˈstɔlt /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter)

gestalts, plural gestalten plural

1. a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole.

2. an instance or example of such a unified whole.

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Gestalt British  

/ ɡəˈʃtælt /

noun

1. (sometimes not capital) a perceptual pattern or structure possessing qualities as a whole that cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts See also Gestalt psychology

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gestalten
  plural
• gestalts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gestalt

1920–25; < German: figure, form, structure

Explanation

A gestalt has two or more parts (like figure and ground) that are so integrated together that we perceive them as one object. Think of teaching "the whole child," and you have the idea behind gestalt. The perception of oneness from many is the basis of gestalt. It derived from the 1890 German philosophy of Gestaltqualität, meaning "form or shape," which explored the idea of perception. For example, a picture might have several separate parts that work together to form one perceived image. The area of gestalt psychology developed in 1912, focusing on the various aspects of a person and how they combine into a whole that affects that person's relationship with his or her environment.

Related Words

• composition
• contour
• shape
• structure