dimorphism

di·mor·phism

Bot. the state of having two different kinds of leaves, flowers, stamens, etc. on the same plant or in the same species
Mineralogy the property of crystallizing in two forms
Zool. the occurrence of two types of individuals in the same species, distinct in coloring, size, etc.

Origin of dimorphism

from Classical Greek dimorphos, having two forms ( from di-, two + morph?, form) + -ism

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dimorphism

noun

Biology The existence among animals of the same species of two distinct forms that differ in one or more characteristics, such as coloration, size, or shape.
Botany The occurrence of two distinct forms of the same parts in one plant, as in the juvenile and adult leaves of ivy.
Chemistry & Physics Dimorphic crystallization.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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The existence of two distinct types of individual within a species, usually differing in one or more characteristics such as coloration, size, and shape. The most familiar type of dimorphism is sexual dimorphism, as in many birds (where the male is often more brightly colored than the female), spiders (where the male is often smaller than the female), horned and tusked mammals (where horns and tusks are often present in the male but not the female), and in some species of deep-sea anglerfish (where the male is reduced to a tiny parasitic form attached for life to the much larger female). Fungi also display dimorphism. For example, the same species may exist as a small, budding yeast under some conditions, but as a mass of long hyphae under others.
The occurrence, among plants, of two different forms of the same basic structure, either on the same plant or among individuals of the same species. The common ivy Hedera helix produces juvenile leaves with prominent lobes under conditions of low light, but adult leaves of more rounded shape under conditions of greater light.
The characteristic of a chemical compound to crystallize in two different forms. Potassium feldspar, for example, can crystallize as either orthoclase (at higher temperatures) or microcline (at lower temperatures).

Related Forms:

dimorphous
adjective

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Noun

(plural dimorphisms)

(biology) The occurrence within a plant of two distinct forms of any part.
(biology) The occurrence in an animal species of two distinct types of individual.
(geology) A property of certain substances that enables them to exist in two distinct crystalline forms.

Origin

di- +‎ -morphism

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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dimorphism - Medical Definition

Biology The existence among animals of the same species of two distinct forms that differ in one or more characteristics, such as coloration, size, or shape.
Botany The occurrence of two distinct forms of the same parts in one plant, as in the juvenile and adult leaves of ivy.
Chemistry & Physics Dimorphic crystallization.

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"Dimorphism." YourDictionary. LoveToKnow. www.yourdictionary.com/Dimorphism.

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Dimorphism. (n.d.). In YourDictionary. Retrieved from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Dimorphism

dimorphism

dimorphism

dimorphism - Medical Definition

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dimorphism

dimorphism

dimorphism - Medical Definition

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