morphology Hear it!

morphology Definition

mor·phol·ogy (môr fälə jē)

noun

  1. the branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants
    1. the branch of linguistics that deals with word structure and with functional changes in the forms of words, such as inflection and compounding
    2. the study of the structure, classification, and relationships of morphemes
  2. any scientific study of form and structure, as in physical geography
  3. form and structure, as of an organism, regarded as a whole

Etymology: Ger morphologie, coined (1822) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe < Gr morphē, form + Ger -logie, -logy

morphology Related Forms
mor′·pho·logi·cal (-fə läji kəl) adjective or mor′·pho·logic mor′·pho·logi·cally adverb mor·pholo·gist noun
morphology Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • churchyard: This association together with the location and morphology of the churchyard are clear indicators of an early medieval origin.
  • verb: Last updated 8 June 2006 Basque: My previous research was on the morphology of the verb in Basque.
  • crystal: The morphology of the crystal was clearly dictated by the template.

Converse of object

  • determine: In order to determine the surface morphology and orientation texture of the films, scanning electron microscopy, SEM, was performed.
  • describe: Fact sheets describe the morphology of each tree in text and in photographs of bark, twigs, fruits and leaves.
  • affect: Overexpression rather than absence of MyoM strongly affected the morphology of D. discoideum.
  • influence: Changes in a number of other factors can also influence island morphology ( Figure 1 ).
  • understand: Understanding large-scale coastal morphology: a study of Winterton Ness, UK Information on this project will be online shortly.

Adjective modifier

  • inflectional: These results provide constraining data for models of inflectional morphology.
  • derivational: One of them tested in this study is derivational morphology.
  • dendritic: It is well known that dendritic morphology plays an important role in neuronal function.
  • abnormal: Low sperm count, poor motility, or abnormal morphology of sperm can make it very difficult to conceive using your partners sperm.
  • large-scale: Understanding large-scale coastal morphology: a study of Winterton Ness, UK Information on this project will be online shortly.
  • verbal: Chapter Eight presents an analysis of the extensive verbal morphology.

Noun used with modifier

  • churchyard: Certainly both the dedication and the churchyard morphology point to an early medieval origin.
  • verb: The section on verb morphology accounts for one third of the book.
  • sperm: In men, smoking levels affect spermatogenesis ( sperm development ), sperm morphology ( abnormality ) and sperm mobility.
  • crystal: The thickening process has not left any indication of the initial crystal morphology.
  • colony: They are divided into the following three groups on the basis of their colony morphology on blood agar plates.
  • cliff: Cliff morphology may follow a cyclic pattern of response to marine undercutting of the toe that results in cliff failure.

Browse dictionary entries near morphology

  1. morphol
  2. morphogenesis
  3. morphogen
  4. morpho-
  5. morphinism
  6. morphing
  7. morphine
  8. -morphic
  9. Morpheus
  10. morphemics
  1. morphophonemics
  2. morphosis
  3. -morphous
  4. morris
  5. Morris chair
  6. Morris Jesup
  7. Morris Worm
  8. Morrison
  9. morro
  10. morrow