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.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM metaplasm

met·a·plas·mic, adjective

Words nearby metaplasm

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

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 of metaplasm

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

Medical definitions for metaplasm

metaplasm

[ mĕt′ə-plăz′əm ]

n.

cell inclusion

Other words from metaplasm

met′a•plas′tic (-plăs′tĭk) adj.