metamorphosis

Etymology

First attested in 1533, from Latin metamorphōsis, from Ancient Greek μεταμόρφωσις (metamórphōsis), from μετά (metá, “change”) + μορφή (morphḗ, “form”). Analyzable as meta- + -morph + -osis

noun

1. A transformation, such as one performed by magic.
   With Severne she along doth go, / Her Metamorphosis to show ; / And makes the wand’ring Wy declaim / In honour of the British name. 1612, Michael Drayton, “Poly-Olbion”, in The Complete Works of Michael Drayton, volume I, London: J. R. Smith, published 1876, page 147
   Where is the gloriously-decisive change, / Metamorphosis the immeasurable / Of human clay to divine gold, we looked / Should, in some poor sort, justify its price ? 1868, Robert Browning, “The Pope”, in Charlotte Porter, Helen A. Clarke, editors, The Ring and the Book, volume II, New York: T. Y. Crowell & Co., published 1898, lines 1610–3, page 212
2. A noticeable change in character, appearance, function or condition.
   The station has been refurbished both at ground level and below ground, where the wide, fluorescently lit platforms are an almost unrecognisable metamorphosis of the dingy, reeking Low Level of old. 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 713
3. (biology) A change in the form and often habits of an animal after the embryonic stage during normal development. (e.g. the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly or a tadpole into a frog.)
4. (pathology) A change in the structure of a specific body tissue. Usually degenerative.