In mineralogy, describing a crystal that has partly self-formed (automorphic) and partly allomorphic (externally shaped) faces.
From Greek autos (self) + allo (other) + triomorphic (three forms). This mineralogical term combines roots to describe mixed crystal formation.
Mineralogists use this term to tell the story of how crystals grew—part-formed by their own rules, part-squeezed into shape by neighbors, like an autobiography written by multiple authors.
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