metamorphosis
noun pl. metamorphoses
- change of form, shape, structure, or substance; transformation, as, in myths, by magic or sorcery
- the form resulting from such change
- a marked or complete change of character, appearance, condition, etc.
- Biol. a change in form, structure, or function as a result of development; specif., the physical transformation, more or less sudden, undergone by various animals during development after the embryonic state, as of the larva of an insect to the pupa and the pupa to the adult, or of the tadpole to the frog
- Med. a pathological change of form of some tissues
See metamorphosis in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(mĕtˌə-môrˈfə-sĭs)
noun pl. met·a·mor·pho·ses (-sēzˌ) - A transformation, as by magic or sorcery.
- A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function.
- Biology A change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Metamorphosis includes, in insects, the transformation of a maggot into an adult fly and a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing of a tadpole into a frog.
- Pathology A usually degenerative change in the structure of a particular body tissue.
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metamorphosis
development of a monarch butterfly
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