verb · 1 syllable · /mɔːrf/

MORPH

What does "MORPH" mean?

To change smoothly and gradually from one form, shape, or state into another.

Meanings

To transform gradually and seamlessly into something different. The startup morphed from a podcast app into a payments company.
In film and graphics, to blend one image into another through computer animation. The effects team morphed the man's face into a wolf's. technical
In linguistics, a minimal meaningful unit of a word as it is actually pronounced. The plural marker in 'cats' is a single morph. technical
In biology, a distinct form or color variant within a single species. The snow leopard's pale coat is a morph suited to its mountains. technical

Did you know?

'Morph' as a verb is surprisingly young: it was popularized around 1990 by Hollywood's new computer 'morphing' effects, clipped from the ancient Greek-rooted 'metamorphosis'.

Word origin

A clipping of 'metamorphosis', from Greek 'morphe', meaning 'form, shape'; popularized as a verb by computer-graphics 'morphing' in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Remember it

MORPH shares its core with metaMORPHosis - both come from Greek 'morphe', shape.

A little poem

Frame by patient frame -
a wolf's jaw climbs through a face;
nothing stays itself.

haiku

Wordplay

The shapeshifter applied for a job but kept changing his answers. HR said he was hard to read - he just couldn't stop morphing.

What it teaches

Real change is rarely a leap; it is a thousand frames where nothing seems to happen until everything has.

Quick facts

What does MORPH mean?

To change smoothly and gradually from one form, shape, or state into another.

Is MORPH a valid word?

Yes — MORPH is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is MORPH?

MORPH has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does MORPH come from?

A clipping of 'metamorphosis', from Greek 'morphe', meaning 'form, shape'; popularized as a verb by computer-graphics 'morphing' in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

What can MORPH teach us?