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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