pro forma
[proh fawr-muh]
- according to form; as a matter of form; for the sake of form.
- Commerce. provided in advance of shipment and merely showing the description and quantity of goods shipped without terms of payment: a pro forma invoice.
- Accounting. indicating hypothetical financial figures based on previous business operations for estimate purposes: a pro forma balance sheet.
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- as a matter of form: Many of the school assignments appear to be done pro forma.
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- a pro forma document.
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Also pro·for·ma (for defs 2, 3, 5).
Origin of pro forma
First recorded in 1565–75, pro forma is from the Latin word prō fōrma
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for proforma
Historical Examples
At the same time he got them to give him a proforma bill for them.
Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London PrisonAustin Biron Bidwell
pro forma
- prescribing a set form or procedure
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- performed in a set manner
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Word Origin
Latin: for form's sake
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for proforma
pro forma
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pro forma
[(proh fawr-muh)]
Doing something pro forma means satisfying only the minimum requirements of a task and doing it in a perfunctory way: “Her welcoming address was strictly pro forma: you could tell that her mind was a million miles away.” From Latin, meaning “by form.”
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.