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.
tetramorphy
An arrangement of four different elements, shapes, or forms.
theomorphic (adjective)
Being in the form or likeness of a deity; having a godlike form or aspect.
theriomorph
1. A representation of an animal form in art.
2. Having the form or characteristics of a wild animal.
3. A reference to a deity worshipped in the form of a beast; partly animal and partly human in form.
2. Having the form or characteristics of a wild animal.
3. A reference to a deity worshipped in the form of a beast; partly animal and partly human in form.
theromorph
An animal form or shape.
thigmomorphic
A descriptive word for a change in form as a result of being touched.
thigmomorphosis
1. A change in form due to contact or touch.
2. Structural change due to contact.
2. Structural change due to contact.
trimorphic
1. Having flowers with pistils and stamens of three different relative lengths.
2. In zoology, exhibiting three different forms (colorations, etc.) in different individuals of a species, or of a colony of polyps.
2. In zoology, exhibiting three different forms (colorations, etc.) in different individuals of a species, or of a colony of polyps.
trimorphism
1. A condition in which there are three distinct forms; such as, a plant or an insect.
2. Existence under three forms, as in holometabolous insects that pass through larval, pupal, and imago stages.
2. Existence under three forms, as in holometabolous insects that pass through larval, pupal, and imago stages.
trimorphous
Existing under three forms; marked by trimorphism.
xenomorphic
A reference to an unusual form or having a strange form or shape.
xenomorphosis
In geology, the texture of igneous rocks in which the crystals are not bounded by their own crystal faces and whose forms are impressed upon them by adjacent preexisting crystals.
xeromorph, xeromorphy, xeromorphism
Plant forms that are adapted to an arid environment.
xeromorphic
1. A reference to plants that have structural or functional adaptations to prevent water loss by evaporation.
2. Structurally adapted for survival under arid contitions.
2. Structurally adapted for survival under arid contitions.
A design element that depicts an animal in a religious content, in art, and in literature: Zoomorphs can be those found in cave paintings or drawings, or even in a fish-shaped door handle from Germany!
zoomorphic (adjective) (not comparable)
1. Relating to or characterized by the form of an animal: In the game at the party, the children tried zoomorphic positions of different fauna which were to be guessed by the others in the group.
2. Regarding human behavior as equivalent to animal behavior: Jack's mother thought that her son acted in a zoomorphic manner when devouring his meal at the dinner table.
3. Concerning a deity (a god or a goddess) or a human that has an animal form or attributes: One zoomorphic creature from the Greek myths is the Centaur which had the head, arms, and chest of a man and the body and legs of a horse.
2. Regarding human behavior as equivalent to animal behavior: Jack's mother thought that her son acted in a zoomorphic manner when devouring his meal at the dinner table.
3. Concerning a deity (a god or a goddess) or a human that has an animal form or attributes: One zoomorphic creature from the Greek myths is the Centaur which had the head, arms, and chest of a man and the body and legs of a horse.
Another zoomorphic human is a mermaid which has the upper body of a woman and the lower body (from about the stomach area) of a fish.
