morph

morph¹ linguistic unit

Etymology

The linguistic term is a back-formation from morpheme,^[1][5][6] or, as the OED, Collins and the Shorter Oxford put it, a shortening of that word;^[2][3][7] Dictionary.com also allows an independent use of the combining form -morph.^[6] That word was formed from Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”) and the suffix -eme, after German Morphem, coined by Jan Baudouin de Courtenay in 1895, and an earlier Russian term of his from 1881.^[2] Etymonline and Klein trace it to the model of phonème.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A minimal phonological unit that realizes a morpheme: 1947, in C. F. Hockett's paper in the journal Language.^[2][1][5] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1945–50.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The term names the concrete sound sequence that stands for an abstract morpheme in a given context.^[2][3] Dictionaries define it either as an allomorph or as a phoneme sequence not yet assigned to any particular morpheme, as when a linguist meets slep- in slept before finding sleep.^[1][10] The Shorter Oxford dates both senses to the mid-20th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 1947 – a phonological unit realizing a morpheme.^[2][1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (linguistics) An allomorph; a sound sequence that is one of the forms in which a morpheme appears.^[1][10][7]
2. (linguistics) A phoneme or sequence of phonemes that is probably an allomorph but has not been assigned to a particular morpheme.^[1][10][7]
3. (linguistics) The phonological realization of a morpheme in a given context.^[3][2][6]

Word family

• empty morph

morph² transform by computer

Etymology

The verb of transformation is a shortening of metamorphose,^[1][5] or, as the OED, Collins and the Shorter Oxford have it, extracted from metamorphosis,^[2][3][7][8] perhaps after the combining form -morph.^[2] The noun metamorphosis is from Latin metamorphōsis, from Ancient Greek μεταμόρφωσις (metamórphōsis, “transformation”),^[8][9] which is built on μετά (metá) and μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”).^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

To alter or transform a computerized image: 1982, in a post to the Usenet newsgroup net.games.rogue.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also dates the transitive sense to 1982,^[1] while the Collegiate gave 1985^[5] and Etymonline about 1987, in cinematic special effects.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word arose with computer animation, for changing one image smoothly into another through a series of small steps.^[2][11] The noun morphing, the technique, is recorded from 1990,^[2] and a noun morph, the process or an image made by it, from 1991.^[2] In the 1990s the verb spread to any transformation, as if by morphing: intransitive from 1992 and transitive, of a person or thing changed into something different, from 1996.^[2] Collins illustrates it with a person who turns from a nerd into a pop icon.^[3]

Timeline

• 1982 – transitive, to transform a computerized image by morphing.^[2][1]
• 1990 – morphing, the technique of smoothly changing one image into another.^[2]
• 1991 – noun, the process of morphing, or an instance of it.^[2]
• 1992 – intransitive, to be transformed as if by morphing; noun, an image or character made by morphing.^[2]
• 1996 – transitive, to change a person or thing into something different.^[2]
• 1998 – intransitive, to undergo transformation by morphing.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To change one image smoothly into another by small gradual steps using computer animation; also, of an image, to be changed in this way.^{[11][1][3][2]}
2. To change gradually or completely in form, appearance or character: Over one summer the shy intern morphed into a confident manager.^{[3][11][1][2]}
3. To change the form or character of something; transform.^[1][2]

Noun

1. An image produced by morphing.^[3][11][2]
2. An act or instance of morphing.^[11][2]

Word family

• morphing