Metaballein

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Characterizing a change in form or an alteration in a system
2. Describing the act of transformation, particularly in a philosophical or metaphorical sense
3. Referring to the concept of reevaluating or shifting perspectives within a given context

Etymology: Metaballein is an ancient Greek verb built from "meta", meaning "change" or "after", and "ballein", meaning "to throw" or "to cast". Its literal sense was something like "to throw over" or "to turn about", and Greek writers used it for changing one's mind, altering course, or shifting position. The idea of throwing something across into a new state is what gives it its sense of transformation. The English word "metabolism" is the most familiar relative, borrowed through German "Stoffwechsel" ideas in the 19th century, and the "-bol" element in both words traces to the same Greek root. Greek philosophers and physicians used the verb-based nouns to describe change in bodies and in the cosmos, so the family was already comfortable with the notion of systems shifting from one condition to another. Most modern uses of this exact verb are technical or scholarly, and its English form is rare. Its meaning survives mainly through the prefix "meta-" and the many scientific coinages that rely on it.