'configure' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'configurare', where 'con-' meant 'together' and 'figura' meant 'form or shape'.

'configure' changed from the Latin word 'configurare' (Late Latin) into English via scholarly and technical use in Modern English; the root 'figura' (form) influenced Middle French and Late Latin derivatives before becoming the English 'configure'.

Initially, it meant 'to form or shape together' (to give form); over time it evolved into its current common meaning of 'to set up or arrange components or options', especially in technical contexts like computing.