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Glite Dictionary
allomorphic

allomorphic

9.9
When a small part of a word has different forms to fit sound or grammar
  • adjective
  • /ˌæl.əˈmɔr.fɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : alomórfico
  • In chemistry, allomorphic characteristics can show how a compound may exist in different structural forms.

Examples

  • The term allomorphic variations in the study of linguistics illustrate how a single morpheme can have different forms.

  • Though clearly not as frequent as creo, leo, and veo, the form seo, being in allomorphic status with the very high frequency so, may have been included in the analogical chain shown above in (15), as depicted below in (16): PREFORMATTED TABLE

    Academic text (2001)

  • The researcher explained that the allomorphic nature of the data required a flexible approach to analysis.

Synonyms

polymorphic
vsallomorphic
  • Specialized
1 8.9

Having many different forms, like minerals or animals with different looks

focuses on variation inside a morpheme or within chemical substances
polymorphous
vsallomorphic
1 9.2

Having many different forms or shapes

describes actual variation in form within morphemes or chemical compounds
allomerous
vsallomorphic
  • Specialized
9.9

Being made of the same elements but forming different molecules

includes variation within morphemes as well as chemical compounds

Surface Forms

allomorphic positive

Morphology

allomorphic = allomorph (semi-transparent) = allo + morph + allo + ic

Formed by regular suffixation from the technical noun 'allomorph', but both 'allo-' and 'morph' are specialized combining forms unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Allomorphic comes from the Greek parts allo- ('other') and morph ('form' or 'shape'). So something described as allomorphic has 'other' forms — for example, a part of a word that changes shape in different words or a compound that appears in different forms.