figuration

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of forming something into a particular shape.
• noun A shape, form, or outline.
• noun The act of representing with figures.
• noun A figurative representation.
• noun Ornamentation of a passage by embellishing and often repeating figures.
• noun The pattern made by such embellishment or repetition.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Formation as to figure or outline; external conformation; determination to a certain form: as, the figuration of crystals.
• noun The act or process of figuring; a shaping into form, or a marking or impressing with a figure or figures.
• noun In music: In strict composition, such as fugue-writing, the introduction of passing-notes into the counterpoint
• noun In general composition, the process, act, or result of rhythmically, melodically, or contrapuntally varying or elaborating a theme by adding passing-notes or accompaniment figures, or even by transforming single tones into florid passages
• noun The preparation of a figured bass (which see. under bass).
• noun In phillol., change in the form of words without change of sense.
• noun Figurative representation; prefiguration.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of giving figure or determinate form; determination to a certain form.
• noun (Mus.) Mixture of concords and discords.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act of giving figure or determinate form; determination to a certain form.
• noun Mixture of concords and discords.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun representing figuratively as by emblem or allegory
• noun decorating with a design