Morph (redirected from morphs)

morph [mȯrf]

(genetics)

An individual variant in a polymorphic population.

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Morph 

the minimal meaningful part of an utterance; a specific representation of a morpheme in a text; one of the variants of a morpheme with nonidentical elements, as in the Russian alternation:

(1) /nos/it’

(2) /nes/ti

(3) /nash/ivat’ [The above three infinitives all contain a morpheme having the basic meaning of “to carry” or “to wear.” Their meaning and usage differs according to their mode of action (in Russian, sposob deistviia; in German, Aktionsart).}

The choice of a morph depends upon its phonological or morphological environment and is subject either to the rules of complementary distribution, as in English plural formants /-s/, /-z/, and /-Iz/, or to the rule of free variation, as in Russian bel/oi/ sten/oi/—bel/oiu/ sten/oiu/ (instrumental singular of belaia stena, “white wall“). The morphs of a single morpheme are known as its allomorphs.