Morphs

Morphs is a plural term used across several disciplines to refer to different forms or variants of a thing. The core idea is a distinct structural or functional manifestation within a system. In common usage, morphs can describe biological variants, linguistic realizations, and digital modeling forms, among others. The term derives from the Greek morphe meaning form.

In biology, a morph is a recognizable variant within a species, often called a polymorph. Morphs can differ in coloration, size, behavior, or physiology. Color morphs, such as melanic or light-colored forms, are classic examples. Seasonal or developmental morphs may appear at different life stages or times of the year. Morphs can be discrete, like a limited set of color forms, or part of a continuous spectrum. Genetic mechanisms range from simple alleles to more complex systems such as supergenes. Natural selection, including balancing and frequency-dependent selection, often maintains multiple morphs within a population.

In linguistics, a morph is the concrete realization of a morpheme in speech or writing. Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units, while morphs are the actual forms that realize them. Allomorphs are variant realizations of the same morpheme, conditioned by phonology or context. For example, plural morphemes in English appear as different phonetic shapes /s/, /z/, or /ɪz/ depending on the preceding sound, and past tense morphemes can be realized as /t/, /d/, or /ɪd/.

In computer graphics, morphs (or morph targets) are alternate shapes of a 3D model used for animation and facial expressions. Blending between morph targets allows smooth transitions between forms, a common technique in character animation and adaptive modeling.

The term is also used informally to describe any gradual change in form, as in objects or concepts that morph over time.