"capability of existing in different forms;" in zoology, "difference of form, structure, or type," 1839, from polymorph + -ism.
Entries linking to polymorphism
polymorph n.
"organism of several forms; an individual organism which differs from others of the same group or species," 1828, from Greek polymorphos "of many forms" (see polymorphous). Related: Polymorphic (1816).
-ism
word-forming element making nouns implying a practice, system, doctrine, etc., from French -isme or directly from Latin -isma, -ismus (source also of Italian, Spanish -ismo, Dutch, German -ismus), from Greek -ismos, noun ending signifying the practice or teaching of a thing, from the stem of verbs in -izein, a verb-forming element denoting the doing of the noun or adjective to which it is attached. For distinction of use, see -ity. The related Greek suffix -isma(t)- affects some forms.