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Glite Dictionary
heterology

heterology

9.9
Body parts that look similar in different animals but develop in different ways
  • noun
  • /ˌhɛtəˈrɑlədʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : heterología
  • In her research, she found examples of heterology where the wings of bats and birds are structurally different but functionally similar.

Examples

  • The study of heterology reveals how different species can possess similar structures despite them serving different functions.

  • The concept of heterology explains why the legs of horses and the fins of fish, though both used for movement, have evolved to serve distinct purposes.

  • While Dvorak's specific historical representations of artists stress bipartite conflict and their amalgamation into formal heterologies, the oppositions endure throughout his historical descriptions as transcendental mechanisms of historical change.

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

homoplasy
vsheterology
  • Specialized
9.9

A trait that appears on its own in different species not from a common ancestor

focuses on lack of structural correspondence despite similar appearance across organisms

Antonyms

homology
  • Specialized
2 9.8

Similarity in body parts or genes because different animals share an ancestor

How Corresponding

homology
  • Specialized
2 9.8
analogy
230 4.9
heterology
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

heterology singular
heterologies plural

Morphology

heterology = hetero + log + y

The word is classically segmentable as hetero- + log + -y, but the biological sense of lack of correspondence between structures is specialized and not transparently recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

Heterology comes from the Greek parts hetero- meaning 'different' and -logy meaning 'study', and you can see -logy in familiar words like biology ('study of life'). So in biology, heterology names body parts that look alike but are 'different' in origin.