What does morphology mean?
Morphology is the study of form and structure. In linguistics, it examines how words are built from roots, prefixes, suffixes, inflections, and other meaningful units, as well as how those units change a word’s grammatical function. For example, the suffixes in “quickly” and “happiness” carry grammatical or semantic information. In biology, morphology describes the shape and organization of organisms and their parts, including features such as leaf shape, bone structure, and animal coloration. The word comes from Greek roots meaning “form” and “the study of.” It is useful because it provides a systematic way to analyze relationships among words and to describe the physical characteristics of living things. While morphology describes how something is formed or structured, it is distinct from physiology, which studies the functions and processes carried out by living organisms.
nounIn linguistics, morphology is the study of the structure and formation of words, including their roots, affixes, and other meaningful elements. In biology, it refers to the form and structure of organisms or their parts.
- The branch of linguistics concerned with the structure and formation of words.
- The form, structure, and external features of an organism or biological part.
"The course examines the morphology of English verbs and the changing forms of plant leaves."
"The morphology of the noun differs from that of the verb."
"Researchers compared the morphology of the species under different environmental conditions."
The plural is established but less common in general usage than the singular, especially in academic writing.
"The scholar compared the morphologies of several closely related languages."
Morphology is the hidden architecture of language: the system that turns roots and affixes into meaningful words.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does morphology come from?
Morphology was formed in the early 19th century from Greek morphē, meaning “form” or “shape,” combined with the suffix -logy, meaning “the study of.” The same Greek root appears in words such as morpheme, morphogenesis, and morphogenetic, which concern meaningful word units or the development of form. Its scientific use expanded beyond language to include the study and description of biological form.
Related word forms
How morphology is actually used
In linguistics, the term is technical and normally refers to the systematic study of word structure. In biology, it is widely used for the form and organization of organisms or anatomical structures.
Easily confused with morphology
Morphology concerns the form and structure of organisms or words, whereas physiology concerns how living organisms and their parts function.