morpho
[ mawr-foh ]
noun,plural mor·phos.
any of various large, tropical American butterflies of the genus Morpho, having brilliant blue, iridescent wings with an underside of brown or gray and eyelike spots.
Origin of morpho
1First recorded in 1850–55; from New Latin Morphō, genus name, from Greek Morphṓ “the Shapely, the Beautiful” (an epithet of Aphrodite in Sparta), akin to morphḗ “form, shape, figure, beauty”
- Also called morpho butterfly.
Other definitions for morpho- (2 of 2)
morpho-
a combining form meaning “form, structure,” used in the formation of compound words:morphology.
Origin of morpho-
2<Greek, combining form of morphḗ
- Also especially before a vowel, morph-.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for morpho-
morpho-
combining form
indicating form or structure: morphology
morpheme: morphophonemics
Origin of morpho-
1from Greek morphē form, shape
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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