polymorphism

noun — 6 senses

polymorphism

noun

UK /pɒlɪˈmɔːfɪz(ə)m/ · US /pɑliˈmɔɹfɪz(ə)m/

Etymology * (object-oriented programming) Coined by British computer scientist Christopher Strachey in 1967. By surface analysis, poly- + -morphism.

1

The ability to assume different forms or shapes.

2

Biology, Natural sciences The coexistence, in the same locality, of two or more distinct forms independent of sex, not connected by intermediate gradations, but produced from common parents.

3

A feature pertaining to the dynamic treatment of data elements based on their type, allowing for a method to have several definitions.

Object-oriented programming

4

Mathematics, Sciences The property of certain typed formal systems of allowing for the use of type variables and binders/quantifiers over those type variables; likewise, the property of certain expressions (within such typed formal systems) of making use of at least one such typed variable.

5

Chemistry, Crystallography, Natural sciences, Physical sciences The ability of a solid material to exist in more than one form or crystal structure; pleomorphism.

6

Biology, Genetics, Medicine, Natural sciences, Sciences The regular existence of two or more different genotypes within a given species or population; also, variability of amino acid sequences within a gene's protein.

  • Since 1990 they have found an entirely new role: they promise understanding of how and why our genes are all so different. They hold the key to human polymorphism.1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2004, page 137:
  • Some polymorphisms can be quite stable – so stable that they span the change from an ancestral to a descendant species.2004, Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale, Phoenix, published 2005, page 63:
Derived terms
micropolymorphism
Related terms
dimorphism, metamorphism, monomorphism, polymorph, polymorphic, polymorphistic, polymorphous, RFLP, riflip
Hyponyms
ad-hoc polymorphism, copy number polymorphism, dynamic polymorphism, inclusion polymorphism, parametric polymorphism, static polymorphism, subtype polymorphism

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.