morphology

noun

mor·​phol·​o·​gy mȯr-ˈfä-lə-jē 

1

a

: a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants

b

: the form and structure of an organism or any of its parts

amphibian morphology

external and internal eye morphology

2

a

: a study and description of word formation (such as inflection, derivation, and compounding) in language

b

: the system of word-forming elements and processes in a language

According to English morphology, the third person singular present tense of a verb is formed by adding -s.

3

a

: a study of structure or form

b

: structure, form

the unique morphology of the city

—H. J. Nelson

4

: the external structure of rocks in relation to the development of erosional forms or topographic features

morphological

ˌmȯr-fə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

adjective

or less commonly morphologic

ˌmȯr-fə-ˈlä-jik 

morphologically

ˌmȯr-fə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

morphologist

mȯr-ˈfä-lə-jist 

noun

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What is morphology?

Within the field of biology, morphology is the study of the shapes and arrangement of parts of organisms, in order to determine their function, their development, and how they may have been shaped by evolution. Morphology is particularly important in classifying species, since it can often reveal how closely one species is related to another. Morphology is studied within other sciences as well, including astronomy and geology. And in language, morphology considers where words come from and why they look the way they do.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

An emerging discipline called synthetic morphology is now questioning that notion. —Philip Ball, Scientific American, 18 Apr. 2023

These were based on human sign language but modified for the unique morphology of a gorilla. —Tim Brinkhof, Discover Magazine, 6 Jan. 2022

The system design is motivated by the result of a morphology design optimization. —IEEE Spectrum, 25 Mar. 2020

Even if the soft tissues of a worm fossilized instead of quickly rotting away, a preserved bobbit worm would provide information about morphology, but probably not behavior. —Matt Simon, Wired, 21 Jan. 2021

Interestingly, this only happened in the roosters—in hens, the canals shut somewhat, but don’t close completely because of slight differences in the morphology of their ears. —Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 31 Dec. 2017

Levin thinks all this is just the start for synthetic morphology. —Philip Ball, Scientific American, 18 Apr. 2023

These elusive, high-altitude cats were once thought to be distant relatives of the big cats—Panthera—due to their unique morphology, but genetic analysis places them firmly with the big cats. —National Geographic, 12 Jan. 2023

This includes the steep physical terrain, unplanned physical morphology, limited connectivity and poor infrastructure for motorized transport. —Michihiro Kita, Quartz, 25 Mar. 2021

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Word History

Etymology

German Morphologie, from morph- + -logie -logy

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

morphology

noun

mor·​phol·​o·​gy mȯr-ˈfäl-ə-jē 

1

a

: a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants

b

: the form and structure of a plant or animal or any of its parts

2

: the part of grammar dealing with word formation

3

: structure entry 1 sense 3, form

the morphology of rocks

morphological

ˌmȯr-fə-ˈläj-i-kəl 

adjective

Medical Definition

morphology

noun

mor·​phol·​o·​gy mȯr-ˈfäl-ə-jē 

plural morphologies

1

: a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants especially with respect to the forms, relations, metamorphoses, and phylogenetic development of organs apart from their functions see anatomy sense 1 compare physiology sense 1

2

: the form and structure of an organism or any of its parts