Morpho

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of colorful butterflies known for their iridescent blue wings
2. A term in biology referring to the form or structure of an organism as it undergoes developmental changes
3. Used in linguistics to describe the smallest grammatical unit in a language and its variations

Etymology: Ancient Greek speakers knew "morphṓ" as a name of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and she was called "the Shapely One" in that sense. The word itself was a noun meaning shape or form, and it gave English a number of technical terms built on the same root, such as "morphology." The word "morpho" as it appears in biology is not that Greek term in its original sense. It is the name of a genus of large, brilliantly blue butterflies, and the genus name was taken from the Greek divinity's epithet, reflecting the beauty of the insects. Because that genus is well known, the combining form has since been used across biology for the shape and structural changes an organism passes through as it develops.

Synonyms: morpho butterfly, blue morpho, morpho peleides