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metaplasm

 - 4 dictionary results

met⋅a⋅plasm

  [met-uh-plaz-uhm]
Use metaplasm in a Sentence
–noun
1. Cell Biology. the nonliving matter or inclusions, as starch or pigments, within a cell.
2. Grammar.
a. a change in the structure of a word or sentence made by adding, removing, or transposing the sounds or words of which it is composed or the letters that represent them.
b. the formation of oblique cases from a stem other than that of the nominative.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME metaplasmus grammatical change, irregularity < L < Gk metaplasmós reforming, remodeling, deriv. of metaplássein to mould differently, remodel. See meta-, -plasm

Related forms:
met⋅a⋅plas⋅mic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To metaplasm
met·a·plasm 1   (mět'ə-plāz'əm)   
n.  Alteration of a word by the addition, omission, or transposition of sounds or syllables or the letters that represent them.

[Middle English metaplasmus, from Latin, from Greek metaplasmos, remodeling, from metaplassein, to remold : meta-, meta- + plassein, to mold; see pelə-2 in Indo-European roots.]
met'a·plas'tic (-plās'tĭk), met'a·plas'mic (-plāz'mĭk) adj.
met·a·plasm 2   (mět'ə-plāz'əm)   
n.  Nonliving material in the protoplasm of a cell, such as pigment granules or nutritive substances.

[meta- + -plasm.]
met'a·plas'mic (-plāz'mĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

metaplasm met·a·plasm (mět'ə-plāz'əm)
n.
See cell inclusion.

met'a·plas'tic (-plās'tĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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