metaplasm

[met-uh-plaz-uhm]

noun

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

2. Grammar.

   1. 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.

   2. the formation of oblique cases from a stem other than that of the nominative.

metaplasm

/ ˈmɛtəˌplæzəm /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• metaplasmic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaplasm¹

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

Example Sentences

The pupil went through all the routine of metaplasm, schematism, and figures of speech; but this was only the groundwork.

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We find in it the datives ἀγώνοις, ἐντυγχανόντοις, and therefore the same metaplasm of declination as among the Ætolians, to whom the grammarians attribute such forms as γερόντοις, παθημάτοις.

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Metaplasm: secondary or differentiated plasm.

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Metaplasm: secondary or differentiated plasm.

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