The Spanish verb 'formar' (meaning 'to form') comes from the Latin verb 'formare', which meant 'to shape' or 'to form'. The Latin 'formare' itself was derived from the Latin noun 'forma' meaning 'shape' or 'figure'. When this verb was adopted into Spanish, it maintained its original meaning and was conjugated with the standard Spanish '-ar' verb ending.

Several common Spanish words are related to 'formar', including the noun 'forma' (meaning 'form' or 'shape'), which comes directly from the same Latin root. Other related words include 'formación' (formation), 'formato' (format), and 'formal' (formal). All these words share the basic concept of shape or structure from their common Latin ancestor.

English speakers will recognize many cognates related to 'formar', including 'form', 'format', 'formal', and 'formation'. These English words share the same Latin ancestry as the Spanish 'formar' and maintain similar meanings related to shape, structure, or creation. The connection between these English words and 'formar' is quite straightforward since they all preserve the core meaning of their Latin root 'forma'.