Having a shape or form resembling barley or grain, particularly in botanical or microscopic descriptions.
From Greek 'alphita' (barley) and 'morphe' (form), combining ancient terms for grain with the concept of shape. The term emerged in 19th-century scientific classification to describe particles or structures that visually resembled ground barley.
Scientists needed precise words to describe microscopic things, so they borrowed from ancient Greek farmers' descriptions of grain! It's like early microscopy had its own visual poetry.
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