monomorphicadj.
/ˌmɒnə(ʊ)ˈmɔːfɪk/, U.S. /ˌmɑnəˈmɔrfɪk/ 1. Chiefly Biology. Having or existing in only one form; spec. (a) having little or no variability (in morphology, chromosome structure, genotype, etc.); (b) having a single, or single predominant, allele; (c) having sexes that are similar in size and appearance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [adjective] > having one unvarying form
constant1793
monomorphous1839
monomorphic1864
stable1889
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > genetic constitution > [adjective] > same genotype
isogenic1933
monomorphic1957
1864 C. Darwin Coll. Papers 16 June II. 125 The genus Lythrum affords trimorphic, dimorphic, and monomorphic species.
1894 G. M. Gould Illustr. Dict. Med. 777/1 Monomorphic, in biology: (a) applied to a collection of individuals, exhibiting similarity or identity of form; (b) applied to species in which the same forms recur one after another with comparatively insignificant individual characters.
1894 W. Bateson Materials Study Variation 37 The..case in which the whole community, grouped according to the degrees in which they display a given character, forms one Curve of Error, may conveniently be called monomorphic in respect of that character.
1957 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quantitative Biol. 22 397/2 A highly polymorphic population..will be able..to leave progeny of some sort in a wider range of environment than could a monomorphic one.
1960 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 46 41 The population fails to reach the level of adaptedness which it would have if it were monomorphic for a genotype with an adaptive value equal to that of the A1A2 heterozygotes.
1971 Nature 17 Sept. 190/2 D. simulans is one of the three widespread species of Drosophila considered to be monomorphic with regard to chromosome structure.
1973 Nature 31 Aug. 574/2 Of the thirty-one loci examined eight are monomorphic in all eleven populations.
1987 R. L. Fletcher Seaweeds Brit. Isles III. i. 40 Monomorphic life histories could be haplontic, diplontic or diplohaplontic.
1992 Cambr. Encycl. Human Evol. (1994) viii. ii. 298/1 The savanna or yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) is chromosomally almost monomorphic.
1995 Nature 8 June 454/1 Unfortunately, the Spix's macaw, like most bird species, is sexually monomorphic.
2. Mathematics. Of a function: that is a monomorphism. Also: produced by a monomorphism.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > transformation > [adjective] > having specific correspondence
orthogonal1852
permutational1888
isomorphic1892
birational1894
unary1931
homomorphic1935
symplectic1939
involutory1941
injective1952
monomorphic1958
bijective1962
surjective1964
1958 Ann. Math. 67 136 Since k2* is monomorphic, ker π2* ⊃ ker i*.
1972 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 94 993 Because of the transfer homomorphism, H*(G) → H*(Σ) is always monomorphic modulo odd torsion.
1992 Ann. Math. 135 382 Let Γ′ ⊂ Γ denote a finite-index subgroup that is the monomorphic image of a subgroup ~Γ ⊂ ~G.
3. Chiefly Medicine and Pathology.
a. = monomorphous adj. 2.
ΚΠ
1973 Cancer 31 1511 (title) Monomorphic adenoma (canalicular type).
1983 Jrnl. Amer. Acad. Dermatol. 8 714 A patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia suddenly developed a disseminated monomorphic eruption of purpuric papules.
1997 Seminars Diagnostic Pathol. 14 8 Monomorphic lesions should be classified according to a recognized classification of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
b. Designating or exhibiting a uniform electrocardiographic or electroencephalographic pattern.
ΚΠ
1978 Jrnl. Clin. Psychiatry 39 579 His EEG showed a monomorphic nonreactive generalized theta rhythm which is the typical activity of PCP overdose.
1986 Human Neurobiol. 5 49 Subjects with monomorphic alpha-waves showed higher amplitudes and longer latencies of most peaks of the visually evoked potential.
1997 Amer. Jrnl. Cardiol. 80 591 All had sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia inducible during baseline electrophysiologic study.
Derivatives
ˌmonoˈmorphically adv. in a monomorphic way; (Mathematics) in a way that constitutes a monomorphism.
ΚΠ
1957 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 79 929 The representation space V of ρ can be G-monomorphically imbedded in a representation space W of a representation σ of K.
1986 Evolution 40 1009 In the monomorphically winged species Oncopeltus fasciatus both flight and oviposition are regulated by the titer of juvenile hormone.
1992 F. Lesske in A. Nerode & M. Taitslin Logical Found. Computer Sci. 269 Results similar to that appear in [Merz 91] who characterizes initial models of equational specifications monomorphically in a different temporal logic.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1864