gestalt

ge·stalt or Ge·stalt  (g-shtält, -shtôlt, -stält, -stôlt)

n. pl. ge·stalts or Ge·stalts or ge·stalt·en or Ge·stalt·en (-shtältn, -shtôltn, -stältn, -stôltn)

A physical, biological, psychological, or symbolic configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that its properties cannot be derived from a simple summation of its parts.

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[German, shape, from Middle High German, from past participle of stellen, to place, from Old High German; see stel- in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

gestalt - a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts pattern, form, shape - a perceptual structure; "the composition presents problems for students of musical form"; "a visual pattern must include not only objects but the spaces between them"