metaplasm

[ met-uh-plaz-uh m ]

/ ˈmɛt əˌplæz əm /

noun

Cell Biology. the nonliving matter or inclusions, as starch or pigments, within a cell.

Grammar.

a change in the structure of a word or sentence made by adding, removing, or transposing the sounds or words of which it is composed or the letters that represent them.
the formation of oblique cases from a stem other than that of the nominative.

Nearby words

metaphysicize, metaphysics, metaphysis, metaphyte, metaplasia, metaplasm, metaplastic anemia, metaplastic carcinoma, metaplastic ossification, metaplastic polyp, metapolitics

Origin of metaplasm

1375–1425; late Middle English metaplasmus grammatical change, irregularity < Latin < Greek metaplasmós reforming, remodeling, derivative of metaplássein to mould differently, remodel. See meta-, -plasm

Related forms

met·a·plas·mic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for metaplasm

metaplasm

/ (ˈmɛtəˌplæzəm) /

noun

the nonliving constituents, such as starch and pigment granules, of the cytoplasm of a cell

Derived Forms

metaplasmic, 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

Medicine definitions for metaplasm

metaplasm

[ mĕt′ə-plăz′əm ]

n.

cell inclusion

Related forms

met′a•plas′tic (-plăs′tĭk) adj.