morphology

UK: /mɔː^rˈfɒlədʒi/ US: /mɔrˈfɑlədʒi/ ,(môr fol′ə jē)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mor•phol•o•gy /mɔrˈfɑlədʒi/   n. [uncountable]

1. Biology the branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of organisms.
2. Linguistics
   • the study of how words are formed in a particular language, as plurals, past tenses, possessives, compounds, etc., in English.

mor•pho•log•i•cal /ˌmɔrfəˈlɑdʒɪkəl/  adj. See -morph-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mor•phol•o•gy  (môr fol′ə jē), n. 

1. Biology the branch of biology dealing with the form and structure of organisms.
2. the form and structure of an organism considered as a whole.
3. Linguistics
   • the patterns of word formation in a particular language, including inflection, derivation, and composition.
   • the study and description of such patterns.
   • the study of the behavior and combination of morphemes.
4. Geography [Physical Geog.] geomorphology.
5. the form or structure of anything:
   to gain an insight into the morphology of our political system.
6. the study of the form or structure of anything.

• first formed in German 1820–30; morpho- + -logy

mor•pho•log•ic  (môr′fə loj′ik), mor′pho•log′i•cal, adj.  mor′pho•log′i•cal•ly, adv. 
mor•phol′o•gist, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

morphology / mɔːˈfɒlədʒɪ/ noun

1. the branch of biology concerned with the form and structure of organisms
2. the form and structure of words in a language, esp the consistent patterns of inflection, combination, derivation and change, etc, that may be observed and classified
3. the form and structure of anything

morphologic / ˌmɔːfəˈlɒdʒɪk/, ˌmorphoˈlogical adjective

ˌmorphoˈlogically adverb

morˈphologist noun