morphology

American  

[mawr-fol-uh-jee] / mɔrˈfɒl ə dʒi /

noun

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

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

3. Linguistics.

   1. the patterns of word formation in a particular language, including inflection, derivation, and composition.

   2. the study and description of such patterns.

   3. the study of the behavior and combination of morphemes.

4. Physical Geography. geomorphology.

5. the form or structure of anything.

   to gain an insight into the morphology of our political system.

6. the study of the form or structure of anything.

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morphology British  

/ mɔːˈfɒlədʒɪ, ˌmɔːfəˈlɒdʒɪk /

noun

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

2. 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

3. the form and structure of anything

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morphology Scientific  

/ môr-fŏl′ə-jē /

1. 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.

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morphology Cultural  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unmorphologically
  adverb
• morphologically
  adverb
• morphological
  adjective
• morphologist
  noun
• unmorphological
  adjective
• morphologic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of morphology

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

Explanation

Morphology is the study of how things are put together, like the make-up of animals and plants, or the branch of linguistics that studies the structure of words. In morphology, the word part morph- means "form" and -ology means "the study of." So, those who study how something is made or formed are engaged in morphology. In biology, the morphology of fish might investigate how the gills work as part of the respiratory system. In language morphology, you might study how prefixes and suffixes added to a word change its meaning.

Example Sentences

They encourage undergraduates to contact them regarding funded research opportunities in the Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory.

From Science Daily • Jan. 10, 2024

Richard Hartlage is founding principal of Land Morphology, a landscape architecture firm that designs and implements grand landscapes — think public gardens, private estates and artfully planted urban spaces.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 23, 2022

In a study published in December in the Journal of Morphology, the researchers looked at how Pacific spiny lumpsuckers develop such armor and how they use it.

From New York Times • Feb. 25, 2022

Morphology refers to the shape and structure of the sperm.

From Washington Post • Apr. 25, 2019

Morphology must be taught as mere descriptive anatomy and systematising, the history of development as mere descriptive ontogenesis.

From Freedom in Science and Teaching. from the German of Ernst Haeckel by Huxley, Thomas Henry

Related Words

• architecture
• arrangement
• complex
• construction
• design
• format
• formation
• framework
• network
• organization
• system