Word of the Day
: October 24, 2006zoomorphic
playWhat It Means
1 : having the form of an animal
2 : of, relating to, or being a deity conceived of in animal form or with animal attributes
zoomorphic in Context
Sid's costume was going to be a pumpkin, but he changed it to a hippopatumus when he decided it looked more zoomorphic than vegetal.
Did You Know?
"Zoo-" (or "zo-") derives from the Greek word "zōion," meaning "animal," and "-morph" comes from the Greek "morphē," meaning "form." These two forms combined to give us the adjective "zoomorphic," which was first used in English to describe something that resembles an animal in 1872. English includes other words that were formed from "zoo-" or "zo-," such as "zoology" (made with "-logy," meaning "science"). We also have other words that were formed from "-morph," such as "pseudomorph," for a mineral having the outward form of another species. (The combining form "pseud-" or "pseudo-" means "false.")
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
