conformation

noun

Etymology: From Latin confōrmātiō. By surface analysis, conform + -ation.

1. The act of conforming; the act of producing conformity.
2. The state of being conformed; agreement

   “I was much struck with the gaiety of the creoles , whose exterior told a stranger that education had been doing something among them in these solitudes ; and as all the parties kissed the Bible in conformation with the law of England”

3. Structure, the arrangement of parts of some thing; form; arrangement.

   “Sennertus [Daniel Sennert] alſo, vvhere he vvrites De morbis Figuræ, reckons amongſt other cauſes of the ill conformation of mens heads, That they are novv and then induced after the birth, vvhilſt the tender Heads of Infants are by Midvvives and Nurſes formed after a divers manner, vvhile they are involved in head-bands, & moulded vvith their hands, according to their irregular and varying phanſies.”

   “One may see well the advantages of this form from the coach - box of our heavily - loaded public vehicles , where animals of different conformation are yoked together”

4. The spatial arrangement of a group of atoms in a molecule as a result of rotation about a covalent bond which remains unbroken.

   “The more stable conformation has the methyl group in an equatorial position , since this minimizes repulsions between axial substituents”