morphologies
Studies of structure
Morphologies is the plural of morphology, which refers to the study or description of forms and structures.
In biology, it concerns the physical form of organisms: The morphologies of deep-sea fish vary dramatically by depth.
In linguistics, it refers to the study of word formation—how prefixes, suffixes, and roots combine.
The term applies wherever form matters: urban morphologies, crystal morphologies.
Study of organism structure
- organismLiving biological entity
- cellBasic unit of life
- tissueDisposable soft paper
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
homology · ontogeny · development · growth · reproduction · taxonomy · classification · systematics
Word form alteration
- declensionNoun form variation
- conjugationVerb form variation system
- suffixWord-ending addition
- prefixRoot-modifying front element
affix · root · stem · derivation · compounding · agglutination · isolating · paradigm
External outline of something
- formShape or document
- configurationArrangement of parts
- contourBounding line of shape
- outlineSummary of key elements
geometry · symmetry · proportion · framework · skeleton · architecture · pattern · arrangement
Fitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
- convergenceProcess of approaching sameness
- ancestryFamily line of descent
fossils · paleontology · cladistics · phylogeny · homologous · analogous · vestigial · derived
State of varied elements
- variabilityTendency to change
- heterogeneityState of being dissimilar
- plasticityAbility to change shape
- differentiationRecognizing meaningful differences
modification · transformation · deviation · anomaly · dimorphism · discontinuous · continuous · gradient
anatomy
Study of organism structure
phenotype · homology · ontogeny · development · growth · reproduction · taxonomy · classification · systematics · phylogeny
inflection
Word form alteration
- declensionNoun form variation
- conjugationVerb form variation system
- suffixWord-ending addition
prefix · affix · root · stem · derivation · compounding · agglutination · isolating · paradigm · bound
shape
External outline of something
- formShape or document
- configurationArrangement of parts
- contourBounding line of shape
outline · geometry · symmetry · proportion · framework · skeleton · architecture · pattern · arrangement · composition
adaptation
Fitting to new conditions
- speciationFormation of distinct species
- divergenceSeparation from common origin
- convergenceProcess of approaching sameness
ancestry · fossils · paleontology · cladistics · phylogeny · homologous · analogous · vestigial · derived · primitive
diversity
State of varied elements
- variabilityTendency to change
- heterogeneityState of being dissimilar
- plasticityAbility to change shape
differentiation · modification · transformation · deviation · anomaly · dimorphism · discontinuous · continuous · gradient · spectrum
morphologiessyntaxes
Word-order rule systems
syntax · semantics · phonology · pragmatics · phonetics
morphologiessemantics
Study of linguistic meaning
meaning · signification · sense · reference · denotation
morphologiespragmatics
Language-in-context study
sociolinguistics · discourse · usage · performance · parole