morpho-, morph-, -morphous, -morphically, -morphia, -morphosis, -morphously, -morphy, -morphic, -morphism

(Greek: shape, form, figure, appearance)

Origins of morpho- words

The Roman god of sleep is Somnus; so, when we are sleepy, we are "somnolent". Sleep walking is "somnambulism" which in Latin means exactly the same thing; that is, "sleepwalking".

The son of Somnus is Morpheus, the god of dreams, indicating that sleep gives birth to dreams. Morpheus goes back through Latin to the Greek word for "form" or "shape" because dreams are forms and shapes developed in the mind while sleeping.

—Compiled from
Words from the Myths by Isaac Asimov;
Houghton Mifflin Company; Boston; 1961; pages 43-44.

Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving word units dealing with "form, shape, appearance": eido-; figur-; form-; icono-; ideo-; imag-; -oid; typo-.