morpho-, morph-, -morphous, -morphically, -morphia, -morphosis, -morphously, -morphy, -morphic, -morphism
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.
anthropomorphoidal
(adjective), more anthropomorphoidal, most anthropomorphoidal
1. A reference to similarities with the human form and appearance.
2. Relating to, or ascribing, human characteristics or behavior to things not human; such as, robots, animals, or natural phenomena.
anthropomorphology
(s) (noun), anthropomorphologies
(pl)
The application, or attribution of human characteristics, to God, or to a god: Anthropomorphology is properly applied to any religious statement, with either literal or symbolic intent, which depicts a deity as existing either wholly or partially in bodily form resembling that of a man, or as possessing qualities of thought, will, or feelings that are like those experienced by humans; such as, the "hand of God" and "the wrath of God".
anthropomorphosis
(s) (noun), anthropomorphoses
(pl)
Transformation into human form.
anthropomorphotheist
(s) (noun), anthropomorphotheist
(pl)
Someone who ascribes human attributes or characteristics to God or to a god.
anthropomorphous
(adjective), more anthropomorphous, most anthropomorphous
A reference to the human form; having the form of, or resemblance to, a human.
"As little does the absence of anthropomorphous apes prove that they never existed among the fauna of Southern Europe; the gorilla, for instance, inhabits silent forests where scarcely any other four-footed animals are met with."
—Anthropoid Apes, by Robert Hartmann; Professor in the University of Berlin;
D. Appleton & Co.; New York; 1883.
anthropomorphously
(adverb), more anthropomorphously, most anthropomorphously
1. A reference to having or suggesting human form and appearance to non-human creatures or objects.
2. Characterized by ascribing human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to things not human; such as, inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.
apomorph (s), apomorphs (pl) (noun forms)
Any derived character occurring at a branching point and carried through one descending group in a phyletic lineage or relating to the hereditary descent of a species or its development over time.
apomorphic (adjective)
In cladistics, this term describes derived or advanced characteristics that arose relatively late in members of a group and therefore differ among them.
These are useful in assessing genealogical links among taxa.
Cladistics refers to a system of biological classification that groups organisms on the basis of their observed shared characteristics in order to determine their common ancestors.
apomorphy (s), apomorphies (pl) (noun forms)
1. A character state derived by evolution from an ancestral state (plesiomorphy).
2. A novel evolutionary trait that places species in a group based on a shared character.
araneomorph
(s) (noun), araneomorphs
(pl)
A spider of the Araneomorphae, or also termed Labidognatha, distinguished by the sideways movement of their jaws: The araneomorphs are spiders that have fangs, also called chelicerae, that cross diagonally forward with a pinching action.
atmometamorphism
(s) (noun) (no pl)
The transformation of the structure of aqueous vapor, moisture, or steam in the air: The atmometamorphism of the steam arising into the air from the pot on the stove was fascinating and showed interesting shapes before disappearing completely from view.
automorphism, automorphic, automorphically
1. Patterned after oneself.
2. The judgment of others by analogy from the knowledge of one's self.
3. An ascription (relating a particular cause) to others of one's own characteristics.
barymorphosis, barymorphic
Those structural changes in organisms that result from the effect of pressure or weight.
Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving word units dealing with "form, shape, appearance":
eido-;
figur-;
form-;
icono-;
ideo-;
imag-;
-oid;
typo-.
