Dictionary Definition

polymorphous adj

1 relating to the crystallization of a compound in two or more different forms; "polymorphous crystallization" [syn: polymorphic]

2 relating to the occurrence of more than one kind of individual (independent of sexual differences) in an interbreeding population; "a polymorphic species" [syn: polymorphic]

3 having or occurring in several distinct forms; "man is both polymorpphic and polytypic"; "a polymorphous god" [syn: polymorphic]

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Adjective

polymorphous

Having, or assuming, a variety of forms, characters, or styles; as, a polymorphous author.
Having, or occurring in, several distinct forms; -- opposed to monomorphic.
Crystallizing in two or more different forms; polymorphic

Translations

Having, or assuming, a variety of forms, characters, or styles

Finnish: monipuolinen, monimuotoinen

Having, or occurring in, several distinct forms

Finnish: polymorfinen

Crystallizing in two or more different forms; polymorphic

Finnish: monimuotoinen

References

Extensive Definition

In general, polymorphism describes multiple possible states for a single property (it is said to be polymorphic, or polymorphous).

Polymorphism may specifically refer to:

Polymorphism (biology), having multiple alleles of a gene within a population, usually expressing different phenotypes
Polymorphism (biophysics) also referred to as Lipid polymorphism, the property of amphiphiles that gives rise to various aggregations of lipids
Polymorphism (botany), the ability of a plant to produce both quiescent and dormant seeds
In sexology, polymorphous perversity
Type polymorphism, allowing program code to work with various types
Polymorphism in object-oriented programming
Polymorphic code, self-modifying program code designed to defeat anti-virus programs
Polymorphism (materials science), the ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure

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