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.
gynandromorphic
1. An organism having both male and female characteristics, especially an insect.
2. Someone having both male and female features; at birth a condition in which the identification of male or female cannot be made.
gynandromorphous
Having, or possessing, both male and female anatomic characteristics.
gynandromorphy
Having both male and female morphological characteristics; hermaphroditic.
gynomorphic, gynomorphy
Having a morphological resemblance to females.
halomorphic (adjective) (not comparable)
Containing, or developed under the influence of large quantities of neutral or alkali salts: The soil in Mrs. Smith's backyard proved to be halomorphic and had both kinds of salts, very suitable for the cultivation of the plants she wanted to have!
hemimorphic
A description of crystals that do not have a horizontal axis of symmetry, so that the top and bottom of the crystal display different forms.
hemimorphite
A white mineral; a common ore of zinc.
heteromorphic
1. Of different or dissimilar forms.
2. Existing in different forms at different stages of life; said of insects that undergo complete metamorphosis.
3. A situation in which there is a replacing of lost parts by new parts which are different from those that have been lost.
4. Having different forms at different times or at different stages of the life cycle; a reference to a plant having an alternation of vegetatively dissimilar generations.
heteromorphosis
1. The development of one tissue from a tissue of another kind or type.
2. The embryonic development of a tissue or an organ inappropriate to its site.
3. The production in an organism of an abnormal or misplaced part, especially in place of one that has been lost (as the regeneration of a tail in place of a head).
4. The production of a malformed or malposed tissue or organ.
5. The formation of tissue of a different type from that from which it is derived.
heteromorphous
Differing from the normal form.
heteromorphous, heteromorphy
1. In biology, having a different appearance; differing in shape, size, or structure; such as, heteromorphic sex chromosomes. 2. In biology, taking different forms at different stages of a life cycle.
3. In medicine, characterized by an atypical form or forms.
4. Differing from the standard form in size or structure: heteromorphic chromosome pairs.

Deviating from the normal, perfect, or mature form; having different forms at different stages of existence, or in different individuals of the same species; applied especially to insects in which there is a wide difference of form between the larva and the adult, and to plants having more than one form of flower.

histomorphology
The morphology, or the study of structure and form including the anatomy, histology, and cytology of the tissues of the body.
holomorphic
Many mathematicians prefer the term "holomorphic function" to "analytic function", as the latter is a more general concept. This is also because an important result in complex analysis is that every holomorphic function is complex analytic, a fact that does not follow directly from the definitions. The term "analytic" is however also in wide use.
holomorphosis
In biology, the perfect regeneration of a lost member or part.
homeomorphic
1. Similarity in crystalline form but not necessarily in chemical composition.
2. In mathematics: A function between two topological spaces that is continuous, one-to-one, and onto, and the inverse of which is continuous. Also called topological transformation.
3. A correspondence between the points of two geometric shapes or two spaces in which each element can be paired with one from the other without any remaining.

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