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• morpho
  morpho

  noun

  any of various large, tropical American butterflies of the genus Morpho, having brilliant blue, iridescent wings with an underside of brown or gray and eyelike spots.
• morpho-
  morpho-

  a combining form meaning “form, structure,” used in the formation of compound words.

morpho

¹ American  

[mawr-foh] / ˈmɔr foʊ /

noun

morphos plural

1. any of various large, tropical American butterflies of the genus Morpho, having brilliant blue, iridescent wings with an underside of brown or gray and eyelike spots.

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morpho- ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “form, structure,” used in the formation of compound words.

   morphology.

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morpho- British  

combining form

1. indicating form or structure

   morphology

2. morpheme

   morphophonemics

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Usage

What does morpho- mean? Morpho- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “form, structure.” It is often occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in biology and linguistics. Morpho- comes from Greek morphḗ, meaning “form.”What are variants of morpho-?When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, morpho- becomes morph-, as in morphactin. Additional related combining forms include -morphic, -morphism, and -morphous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on all four combining forms.

Etymology

Origin of morpho¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from New Latin Morphō, genus name, from Greek Morphṓ “the Shapely, the Beautiful” (an epithet of Aphrodite in Sparta), akin to morphḗ “form, shape, figure, beauty”

Origin of morpho-²

< Greek, combining form of morphḗ

Example Sentences

According to the Rainforest Alliance, the blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

In the Amazon, tapirs with droopy trunks and watery eyes step "mincingly" along riverbanks, and blue morpho butterflies the size of postcards careen "reckless and beautiful" through their camp.

From Salon • May 24, 2022

Mimicking a light-filled 80-degree rainforest, this 1,200-square-foot vivarium provides close encounters with as many as 500 creatures, such as monarch, viceroy, blue morpho and emerald swallowtail butterflies, and atlas and luna moths.

From New York Times • Nov. 25, 2021

The tiny scales on a morpho butterfly’s wings, for example, are covered with minuscule ridges that have cross-ribs—a little like the profile of a fir tree.

From Scientific American • Nov. 13, 2020

So the first thing the morpho software did was take each side of your fece and double it, like holding a mirror right down the middle, creating two examples of perfect symmetry.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld