a person with a thin body build: said to be correlated with cerebrotonia
Compare endomorph, mesomorph
Derived forms
ectomorphic (ˌectoˈmorphic)
adjective
ectomorphy (ˈectoˌmorphy)
noun
ectomorph in American English
(ˈɛktoʊˌmɔrf; ˈɛktəˌmɔrf)
noun
an ectomorphic individual
ectomorph in American English
(ˈektəˌmɔrf)
noun
a person of the ectomorphic type
Word origin
[1935–40; ecto- + -morph]This word is first recorded in the period 1935–40. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: aeroembolism, hard core, prime mover, roadblock, unit trust-morph is a combining form meaning “form, structure,” of the kind specified by the initialelement. Other words that use the affix -morph include: allomorph, pseudomorph, ramamorph, rhizomorph, skeuomorph
Examples of 'ectomorph' in a sentence
ectomorph
Everyone by now should be more accepting of different body types: endomorph, ectomorph, mesomorph.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Ectomorph is a skinny beanpole, endomorph is short and bulky — they could train for years and never make it.