1
[Latin metaplasmus, literally, transformation, from Greek metaplasmos, from metaplassein to remold, from meta- + plassein to mold]
: alteration of regular verbal, grammatical, or rhetorical structure usually by transposition of the letters or syllables of a word or of the words in a sentence
2
[International Scientific Vocabulary meta- + -plasm; originally formed as German metaplasma]
: material consisting of lifeless derivatives of protoplasm (as cell walls, starch grains)
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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