morphology

• Nom désignant l'étude de la forme et de la structure des organismes, des mots ou des objets géologiques, couvrant l'organisation biologique, les règles de formation des mots, l'agencement des sons et l'évolution du relief.

A noun referring to the study of the form and structure of organisms, words, or geological features, encompassing biological structure, word formation rules, sound arrangement, and landform evolution.

indénombrable

1. Biological structureC1formalscientific

   The branch of biology that studies the form and structure of organisms, including their internal and external features.

   Morphologie (biologie)

   • Plant morphology examines the shape and arrangement of leaves, stems, and roots.
   • Comparative morphology helps scientists understand evolutionary relationships between species.
   • The morphology of the human heart is complex and highly specialized.

   Synonymesanatomyformorganizationstructure

2. Word formationC1formal

   The study of the internal structure of words and the rules by which words are formed in a language.

   Morphologie (formation des mots)

   • English morphology includes the study of prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
   • The morphology of the word 'unhappiness' shows three morphemes: 'un-', 'happy', and '-ness'.
   • Linguists analyze morphology to understand how languages create new words.

   Synonymesaccidence

3. Sound arrangementC2formal

   The study of the admissible arrangement of sounds in words, often overlapping with phonology.

   Morphologie phonologique

   • The morphology of sounds in a language determines which consonant clusters are allowed.
   • In English morphology, the sound sequence 'spr-' is permissible at the start of a word.
   • Phonological morphology examines how sound patterns affect word structure.

4. Geological featuresC1formalscientific

   The branch of geology that studies the characteristics, configuration, and evolution of landforms and rock structures.

   Morphologie (géologie)

   • The morphology of a river valley changes over time due to erosion and deposition.
   • Geologists use morphology to classify different types of mountains and plateaus.
   • The morphology of the coastline is shaped by wave action and tectonic activity.

   Synonymesgeomorphologyphysiography