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metaplasm

[met-uh-plaz-uh m]

noun

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

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 formsmet·a·plas·mic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for metaplasm

metaplasm

noun

the nonliving constituents, such as starch and pigment granules, of the cytoplasm of a cell
Derived Formsmetaplasmic, 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
metaplasm in Medicine

metaplasm

[mĕt′ə-plăz′əm]

n.

cell inclusion
Related formsmet′a•plas′tic (-plăs′tĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.