heteromorphic
|het-er-o-mor-phic|
🇺🇸
/ˌhɛtərəˈmɔr.fɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌhɛtərəˈmɔːfɪk/
different form / different shape
Etymology
'heteromorphic' originates from Greek, specifically from the prefix 'hetero-' meaning 'different' and the noun 'morphē' meaning 'form'.
'heteromorphic' was formed in modern scientific English (via Neo-Latin/late Latin coinages) by combining Greek elements 'hetero-' + 'morph-' and adopted into English use in the 19th century in biological and morphological contexts.
Initially it literally meant 'having a different form,' and over time it has retained this core sense while broadening to general and technical uses in biology, geology, and other fields to denote distinct forms or shapes.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
having or occurring in different forms, especially different morphological forms at different stages of an organism's life cycle (e.g., larval and adult stages that differ markedly).
Many insects are heteromorphic, showing very different forms in their larval and adult stages.
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Adjective 2
of or relating to objects, structures, or organisms that exist in more than one distinct form or shape (general, non-biological use).
The mineral sample was heteromorphic, containing crystals of different shapes within the same specimen.
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Last updated: 2026/01/14 12:20