allomorph

[ al-uh-mawrf ]

/ ˈæl əˌmɔrf /

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noun

any of two or more different forms of the same chemical compound.

Linguistics. one of the alternate contextually determined phonological shapes of a morpheme, as en in oxen, which is an allomorph of the English plural morpheme.Compare morph.

Mineralogy. paramorph.

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Origin of allomorph

First recorded in 1865–70; allo- + -morph

OTHER WORDS FROM allomorph

al·lo·mor·phic, adjective

Words nearby allomorph

allograph, allomerism, allomerize, allometry, allomone, allomorph, allomorphism, all on, all one, allonge, allonym

British Dictionary definitions for allomorph

allomorph

/ (ˈæləˌmɔːf) /

noun

linguistics any of the phonological representations of a single morpheme. For example, the final (s) and (z) sounds of bets and beds are allomorphs of the English noun-plural morpheme

any of two or more different crystalline forms of a chemical compound, such as a mineral

Derived forms of allomorph

allomorphic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012