bench or form

[bluecraig]

Why is a garden bench sometimes called a form ?

[Ethel]

Any bench or long seat without a back was commonly called a form - it's old fashioned now.

Why I don't know.

[Quizmonster]

In Old French, s'asseoir en forme meant to sit in a row or in a fixed order, as in the choir stalls in a church. Hence the meaning of a bench. In Latin, forma meant much the same thing.