morphology

noun

mor·​phol·​o·​gy mȯr-ˈfä-lə-jē How to pronounce morphology (audio)
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 cityH. J. Nelson
4
: the external structure of rocks in relation to the development of erosional forms or topographic features
morphological adjective
or less commonly morphologic
morphologically adverb
morphologist 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.

Examples of morphology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Additionally, researchers have seen quite a bit of overlap in the portions of the genome that impact facial morphology and those that influence brain morphology. Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2024 This lungfish’s unique and relatively unchanged morphology over millions of years offer valuable insights into early vertebrate evolution. Scott Travers, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024 The morphology of the humerus is most closely related to the H. floresiensis individuals who resided on Flores hundreds of thousands of years later. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 6 Aug. 2024 Functional morphology of the Triassic apex predator Saurosuchus galilei (Pseudosuchia: Loricata) and convergence with a post-Triassic theropod dinosaur Die Naturwissenschaften. Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for morphology 

Word History

Etymology

German Morphologie, from morph- + -logie -logy

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of morphology was in 1828

Dictionary Entries Near morphology

Cite this Entry

“Morphology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morphology. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

morphology

noun
mor·​phol·​o·​gy mȯr-ˈfäl-ə-jē How to pronounce morphology (audio)
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 adjective

Medical Definition

morphology

noun
mor·​phol·​o·​gy mȯr-ˈfäl-ə-jē How to pronounce morphology (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on morphology

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