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Polymorphous describes something that has many forms. It does not keep one shape, one look, or one style all the way through. You hear it most in biology and medicine: a living thing, or an illness, that shows up in several different forms as it grows or as doctors find it. Poly- is 'many' and morph is 'form/shape'. A moth can be polymorphous in a simple school sense: the young creature does not look like the adult. A rash can be polymorphous if it does not always look the same. Though actually, the sister word polymorphic is more common in modern biology, for a kind of living thing that has several types at once. Polymorphous sounds a little older. In some old writing about the mind, it is used for early feelings that take many forms — that is a special use, not the school meaning. Do not use it for a person who merely has many hobbies; that stretches it. It is an adjective: a polymorphous species, a polymorphous condition.
多形的；多型的
組成poly- ('many') + -morphous ('having a form'), from Greek morphḗ 'form, shape'. From New Latin polymorphus, from Greek polúmorphos 'having many forms'.
同家族的字
- polymorphicalmost the same pieces; the more common biology word today
- metamorphosissame morph- 'form': a change from one form to another
- morphologysame morph- 'form': the study of shape and form
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
polymorphousadj
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Having, or assuming, a variety of forms, characters, or styles
- Idealism is an exceedingly complex system, varying much with varying authors, very polymorphous, and consequently very difficult to discuss.
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biologynatural-sciencesHaving, or occurring in, several distinct forms
- 1913, R. Chodat in Popular Science Monthly Volume 82 Janauay 1913, A Grain of Wheat In order to establish itself in any locality a plant must hold its own against competitors which, masters of the soil from time immemorial, have been selected to fit the soil and climate. Moreover, emmer is not cultivated anywhere in Palestine. This wild wheat is furthermore a different plant from any known in cultivation, a polymorphous race, no doubt, but a distinct one.
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chemistrynatural-sciencesphysical-sciencesCrystallizing in two or more different forms; polymorphic
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。