gestalt means A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic elements that creates a whole, unified concept or pattern which is other than the sum of its parts due to the relationships between the parts (of a character, personality, entity, or being). Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 78 out of 100.
Why this word is great
GESTALT — [Noun] A unified whole, concept, or pattern whose properties and meaning transcend the mere summation of its individual parts. Borrowed from German Gestalt, meaning "shape, figure, or form," from the past participle of the obsolete verb stellen ("to place, set, arrange"). Unlike an "aggregate," a mere collection with no emergent character, or a "component," a solitary piece considered in isolation, a gestalt is the irreducible reality born from specific arrangement. It is the distinct melancholic scent of a bookstore, arising from the quiet communion of paper, ink, and glue; the sudden melody absent from any single note; and the sudden, legible meaning of a constellation, which exists only in the mind's connective lines drawn between distant stars—the persistent human faith that arrangement itself is a kind of truth.
noun
- A collection of physical, biological, psychological or symbolic elements that creates a whole, unified concept or pattern which is other than the sum of its parts due to the relationships between the parts (of a character, personality, entity, or being).“Mary did not approve of the Eleanor gestalt. "I been to Woonsocket S.D., Eleanor McGovern's hometown," she said, "and nobody there? I mean nobody? dresses like that."”