pleomorphism
noun
Forms pleomorphisms
- noun (biology) The occurrence of multiple structural forms during the life cycle of an organism.
- noun (chemistry) Synonym of polymorphism.
Synonyms
Etymology
From pleo- (“full, many”) + -morphism.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The property of crystallizing under two or more distinct fundamental forms, including dimorphism and trimorphism.
- noun The theory that the various genera of bacteria are phases or variations of growth of a number of Protean species, each of which may exhibit, according to undetermined conditions, all or some of the forms characteristic of the different genera and species.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pleomorphism”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details