different between morph vs metamorphosis

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: mô(r)f, IPA^(key): /m??(?)f/
• Rhymes: -??(r)f

Etymology 1

Back-formation from morpheme, from Ancient Greek ????? (morph?, “form, shape”). Compare German Morph, from Morphem. Attested since the 1940s.

Noun

morph (plural morphs)

2. (grammar, linguistics) A physical form representing some morpheme in language. It is a recurrent distinctive sound or sequence of sounds.
3. (linguistics) An allomorph: one of a set of realizations that a morpheme can have in different contexts.

Translations

References

• “morph, n.3.”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2002

Etymology 2

Back-formation from morphism. Attested since the 1950s. See also morphology.

Noun

morph (plural morphs)

1. (biology) Local variety of a species, distinguishable from other populations of the species by morphology or behaviour.

Translations

References

• “morph, n.4.”, in OED Online ?, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2002

Etymology 3

Clipping of metamorphose.

Verb

morph (third-person singular simple present morphs, present participle morphing, simple past and past participle morphed)

1. (colloquial, transitive, intransitive) To change shape, from one form to another, through computer animation.
2. (of fantastic beings in science fiction or fantasy) To shapeshift.
   • 1993, Peter David, The Siege:

     Meta leapt forward. In midair his lower half morphed, and suddenly he was one-half humanoid, one-half coiled spring.

3. To undergo dramatic change in a seamless and barely noticeable fashion.
   • 2013 June 18, Simon Romero, "Protests Widen as Brazilians Chide Leaders," New York Times (retrieved 21 June 2013):

     By the time politicians in several cities backed down on Tuesday and announced that they would cut or consider reducing fares, the demonstrations had already morphed into a more sweeping social protest, with marchers waving banners carrying slogans like “The people have awakened.”

Noun

morph (plural morphs)

1. A computer-generated gradual change from one image to another.

Etymology 4

Clipping of morphine.

Noun

morph (uncountable)

1. (slang) morphine
   • 2008, Donald Bodey, F.N.G. (page 103)

     They're bringing you some morph before long. […] The tube has its own needle, and the medic jabs it in like he has done it a million times, then marks Chickenfeed's forehead so the Rear will know he's already had morphine.

Related terms

• morphic
• morpho-
• morphological
• muscle morph

English

Etymology

First attested in 1533, from Latin metamorph?sis, from Ancient Greek ???????????? (metamórph?sis), from ???? (metá, “change”) + ????? (morph?, “form”). Analyzable as meta- +? -morph +? -osis

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?t??m??f?s?s/, /?m?t?m???f??s?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m????m??f?s?s/
• (one pronunciation) Rhymes: -??s?s
• Hyphenation: met?a?mor?pho?sis

Noun

metamorphosis (countable and uncountable, plural metamorphoses)

1. A transformation, such as one performed by magic.
2. A noticeable change in character, appearance, function or condition.
3. (biology) A change in the form and often habits of an animal after the embryonic stage during normal development. (e.g. the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly or a tadpole into a frog.)
4. (pathology) A change in the structure of a specific body tissue. Usually degenerative.

Derived terms

Related terms

• metamorphic
• metamorphose
• metamorphosize
• metamorphism

Translations