the nonliving constituents, such as starch and pigment granules, of the cytoplasm of a cell
Derived forms
metaplasmic (ˌmetaˈplasmic)
adjective
metaplasm in American English
(ˈmɛtəˌplæzəm)
noun
1.
that part of the contents of a cell which consists of lifeless matter, as certain fatty or starch granules
2.
a change in a linguistic form made by the addition, omission, or transposition of a sound or sounds or a syllable or syllables
Derived forms
metaplasmic (ˌmetaˈplasmic)
adjective
Word origin
(sense 1) meta- + -plasm; (sense 2) L metaplasmus, an irregularity < Gr metaplasmes, formation of cases of nouns from a missing nom. < meta, over (see meta-) + plassein, to form (see plastic)