metamorphosis
/ˌmetəˈmɔːfəsɪs/·메타모포시스·noun
a complete change of form
GreekCEFR C1
Root
Greek 'meta-' (change) + 'morphe' (form)
Greek metamorphosis (a transformation) → Latin metamorphosis → English metamorphosis (16th c.)
In a word
Greek meta- (change) + morphe (form). 'A change of form'. The meta family meets the morph family within a single word — metamorphosis (a change of form), morph (the form itself), morphology (the study of form), amorphous (without form), morpheme (the smallest form of meaning). When Kafka's "Die Verwandlung" — a man becoming a beetle — was rendered in English as "The Metamorphosis," the weight of one Greek word came along with it.
Examples
A caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis.
The city went through a metamorphosis.
Kafka wrote "The Metamorphosis."
Related
metamorphicmetamorphosemorphmorphemeamorphous