morphology

[ mawr-fol-uh-jee ]

/ mɔrˈfɒl ə dʒi /

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See synonyms for: morphology / morphological on Thesaurus.com

noun

the branch of biology dealing with the form and structure of organisms.

the form and structure of an organism considered as a whole.

Linguistics.

the patterns of word formation in a particular language, including inflection, derivation, and composition.
the study and description of such patterns.
the study of the behavior and combination of morphemes.

Physical Geography. geomorphology.

the form or structure of anything: to gain an insight into the morphology of our political system.

the study of the form or structure of anything.

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Origin of morphology

1820–30; morpho- + -logy; first formed in German

OTHER WORDS FROM morphology

mor·pho·log·ic

[mawr-fuh-loj-ik], /ˌmɔr fəˈlɒdʒ ɪk/, mor·pho·log·i·cal, adjectivemor·pho·log·i·cal·ly, adverbmor·phol·o·gist, nounun·mor·pho·log·i·cal, adjective

un·mor·pho·log·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby morphology

morphogenesis, morphol., morpholine, morpholino, morphologic construction, morphology, morphometrics, morphonology, morphophoneme, morphophonemic, morphophonemics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use morphology in a sentence

“The mosasaurs were still experimenting with new ways of feeding, new morphologies, new lifestyles just before that asteroid came down,” Longrich says.
This ancient sea reptile had a slicing bite like no other|Jake Buehler|February 2, 2021|Science News
The morphology of the canine was so similar to a mega-size gray wolf that nobody thought to argue with what seemed like a sure thing.
Dire wolves are actually ice age mega-foxes|Sara Kiley Watson|January 21, 2021|Popular-Science
Still, structure and function go hand-in-hand in biology, so it’s reasonable to expect one day neuroscientists will know how specific neuronal morphologies contribute to activity profiles.
An Existential Crisis in Neuroscience - Issue 94: Evolving|Grigori Guitchounts|December 30, 2020|Nautilus
In one, rapid diversification in some aspect of body morphology produces a burst of new species at first, and then speciation slows as the available niches fill up.
New Fish Data Reveal How Evolutionary Bursts Create Species|Elena Renken|December 1, 2020|Quanta Magazine

Keefe recently published a paper in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society on the morphology of 89 species of frogs from every continent except Antarctica.
These buff frogs never skip arm day|Sara Kiley Watson|September 25, 2020|Popular-Science
Recognition of the pneumococcus depends upon its morphology, the fact that it is Gram-staining, and the presence of a capsule.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Functional morphology of three bats: Sumops, Myotis, Macrotus.
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala|William E. Duellman
Their influence reaches far beyond the proper sphere of phonetics and invades that of morphology, as we shall see.
Language|Edward Sapir
Although it is as an anatomist that Nehemiah Grew is best known, his grasp of external morphology is perhaps even more remarkable.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists|Various
We must recollect that the comparative morphology of the ovule (in the wide sense) was not attempted.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists|Various

British Dictionary definitions for morphology

morphology

/ (mɔːˈfɒlədʒɪ) /

noun

the branch of biology concerned with the form and structure of organisms

the form and structure of words in a language, esp the consistent patterns of inflection, combination, derivation and change, etc, that may be observed and classified

the form and structure of anything

Derived forms of morphology

morphologic (ˌmɔːfəˈlɒdʒɪk) or morphological, adjectivemorphologically, adverbmorphologist, noun

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

Scientific definitions for morphology

morphology

[ môr-fŏl′ə-jē ]

The size, shape, and structure of an organism or one of its parts. Biologists usually describe the morphology of an organism separately from its physiology. In traditional systems of taxonomy, classifications were based on the morphological characteristics of organisms. However, a method of classification based purely on morphology runs the risk of grouping together organisms that are actually relatively unrelated but have evolved similar features. In more modern systems of taxonomy, the genetic similarity of organisms, studied through the methods of molecular biology, is considered in addition to morphology when establishing taxa.

Cultural definitions for morphology

morphology

[ (mawr-fol-uh-jee) ]

The study of the structure of living things. (Compare anatomy and physiology.)

morphology

Origin of morphology

OTHER WORDS FROM morphology

Words nearby morphology

Words related to morphology

How to use morphology in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for morphology

Derived forms of morphology

Scientific definitions for morphology

Cultural definitions for morphology