metamorphosis

[met-uh-mawr-fuh-sis] /ˌmɛt əˈmɔr fə sɪs/
noun, plural metamorphoses
[met-uh-mawr-fuh-seez] /ˌmɛt əˈmɔr fəˌsiz/ (Show IPA)
1.
Biology. a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly.
Compare complete metamorphosis.
2.
a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.
3.
any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.
4.
a form resulting from any such change.
5.
Pathology.
  1. a type of alteration or degeneration in which tissues are changed:
    fatty metamorphosis of the liver.
  2. the resultant form.
6.
Botany. the structural or functional modification of a plant organ or structure during its development.
Origin
1525-35; < Neo-Latin metamorphōsis < Greek metamórphōsis transformation. See meta-, -morph, -osis
Related forms
nonmetamorphosis, noun, plural nonmetamorphoses.
Synonyms
2. mutation, transmutation.
Antonyms
1, 2. stasis.

Metamorphosis, The

noun, German Die Verwandlung
1.
a short story (1915) by Franz Kafka.
Examples from the web for metamorphosis
  • So the metamorphosis, if that's what it is, is still in progress.
  • He then went through a slow and remarkable metamorphosis.
  • Although this extraordinary metamorphosis rivals the majestic butterfly's, illustrations and text convey facts more than wonder.
  • Each metamorphosis produced at least one superb album.
  • Undergoing a metamorphosis that lacks a pupal stage.
  • The metamorphosis did not stop there.
  • In earliest human life, some cells undergo a dramatic metamorphosis.
  • Tracy is equally distressed by the alarming metamorphosis of her childhood friend Stanley.
  • The whole of the world's financial structure is in the final stage of metamorphosis.
  • Even culture, symbols-metamorphosis, this transcendent theme in literature around the world.
British Dictionary definitions for metamorphosis

metamorphosis

/ˌmɛtəˈmɔːfəsɪs/
noun (pl) -ses (-ˌsiːz)
1.
a complete change of physical form or substance
2.
a complete change of character, appearance, etc
3.
a person or thing that has undergone metamorphosis
4.
(zoology) the rapid transformation of a larva into an adult that occurs in certain animals, for example the stage between tadpole and frog or between chrysalis and butterfly
Word Origin
C16: via Latin from Greek: transformation, from meta- + morphē form
Word Origin and History for metamorphosis
n.

1530s, "change of form or shape," especially by witchcraft, from Latin metamorphosis, from Greek metamorphosis "a transforming, a transformation," from metamorphoun "to transform, to be transfigured," from meta- "change" (see meta-) + morphe "form" (see Morpheus). Biological sense is from 1660s. As the title of Ovid's work, late 14c., Metamorphoseos, from Latin Metamorphoses (plural).

metamorphosis in Medicine

metamorphosis met·a·mor·pho·sis (mět'ə-môr'fə-sĭs)
n. pl. met·a·mor·pho·ses (-sēz')

  1. A marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function. Also called transformation.

  2. A change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Metamorphosis includes, in insects, the transformation of a maggot into an adult fly and a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing of a tadpole into a frog.

  3. A usually degenerative pathological change in the structure of a particular body tissue.

met'a·mor·phot'ic (-môr-fŏt'ĭk) adj.
metamorphosis in Science
metamorphosis
  (mět'ə-môr'fə-sĭs)   
Dramatic change in the form and often the habits of an animal during its development after birth or hatching. The transformation of a maggot into an adult fly and of a tadpole into an adult frog are examples of metamorphosis. The young of such animals are called larvae.
metamorphosis in Culture
metamorphosis [(met-uh-mawr-fuh-sis)]

A change in an animal as it grows, particularly a radical change, such as the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.