morph

noun
/mɔː(ɹ)f/

Etymology

Back-formation from morpheme, from Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”). Compare German Morph, from Morphem. Attested since the 1940s.

  1. derived from μορφή — “form, shape

Definitions

  1. A recurrent distinctive sound or sequence of sounds representing an indivisible…

    A recurrent distinctive sound or sequence of sounds representing an indivisible morphological form; especially as representing a morpheme.

    • Bq. ezpel ['box tree'] likely goes back to *ez-, a morph found in Basque tree names, and *-bel 'dark'.
  2. An allomorph

    An allomorph: one of a set of realizations that a morpheme can have in different contexts.

  3. A variety of a species, distinguishable from other individuals of the species by…

    A variety of a species, distinguishable from other individuals of the species by morphology or behaviour.

    • Briefly, the yellow morphic males can change their status from paired to satellite and from satellite to the paired one. However, they cannot cross into the status of the red morph.
  4. + 6 more definitions
    1. To change shape, from one form to another, through computer animation.

    2. To shapeshift.

      • Meta leapt forward. In midair his lower half morphed, and suddenly he was one-half humanoid, one-half coiled spring.
      • "Would it reflect badly on women if I morphed my bust size up a bit for it? Sorta like wearing a padded bra?"
    3. To undergo dramatic change in a seamless and barely noticeable fashion.

      • “Highbrow and lowbrow, alternative and mainstream, work and play, CEO and hipster are all morphing together today,” [Richard] Florida enthuses.
    4. A computer-generated gradual change from one image to another.

      • But what is this metasubstance that blinks at us from the apex of the morph, and that in Terminator 2 is hyperbolized in the quicksilver substratum of the T-1000?
    5. Morphine.

      • They're bringing you some morph before long. […] The tube has its own needle, and the medic jabs it in like he has done it a million times, then marks Chickenfeed's forehead so the Rear will know he's already had morphine.
    6. A hermaphrodite, an intersex person.

      • I am seeking to correspond with a TV [transvestite] or a natural morph. I want them to be passive (I'm totally non-violent) but open in feelings and ideas. I need no financial support, only moral support from a person with small sex parts.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for morph. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA