morph
/mɔː(ɹ)f/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.07 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A recurrent distinctive sound or sequence of sounds representing an indivisible morphological form; especially as representing a morpheme.
noun
A variety of a species, distinguishable from other individuals of the species by morphology or behaviour.
verb
To shapeshift.
noun
A computer-generated gradual change from one image to another.
Example Sentences
- "Bq. ezpel ['box tree'] likely goes back to *ez-, a morph found in Basque tree names, and *-bel 'dark'."
- "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."
- "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?""
- "By the time politicians in several cities backed down on Tuesday and announced that they would cut or consider reducing fares, the demonstrations had already morphed into a more sweeping social protest, with marchers waving banners carrying slogans like “The people have awakened.”"
- "“Highbrow and lowbrow, alternative and mainstream, work and play, CEO and hipster are all morphing together today,” [Richard] Florida enthuses."
Etymology
Back-formation from morpheme, from Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”). Compare German Morph, from Morphem. Attested since the 1940s.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: μορφή