morphologist

American  

[mawr-fahl-uh-jist] / mɔrˈfɑl ə dʒɪst /

noun

plural

morphologists

1. a specialist in morphology.

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Explanation

A morphologist is a person who studies the shape and structure of either living things or words, depending on their field of study. Morphologists study form and structure. In biology, they explore how the shapes of organisms adapt to environments, such as variations in fish fins. In linguistics, they analyze word structures, understanding how different parts form meanings. For instance, a linguistic morphologist would know that the word "morphologist" comes from the Greek word morphē, which means "form," and the suffix -logist, meaning "one who studies."

Example Sentences

“The evidence is compatible with bipedality” but does not prove it, says functional morphologist Chris Ruff of Johns Hopkins University.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 24, 2022

Claus Nielsen, a morphologist affiliated with the Natural History Museum of Denmark and author of the new paper, has followed this controversy, which has unfolded entirely during his retirement, with great interest.

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2019

On 31 January, plant morphologist Dmitry Sokoloff of Moscow State University and his colleagues published a reanalysis of the data that suggests a different arrangement of key female reproductive structures in the first flower.

From Scientific American • Feb. 6, 2018

Plant morphologist and lead author Dan Chitwood also presented the study at the Botany 2017 meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, on 27 June.

From Nature • Jul. 6, 2017

One has constantly to remember in dealing with Geoffroy's theories that he was not an evolutionist, but purely a morphologist.

From Form and Function A Contribution to the History of Animal Morphology by E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell