Meaning & use

Metamerism

noun·Academic

Last updated

The division of an animal's body into a series of repeating segments, as seen in earthworms and other invertebrates.

See it in a sentence

Metamerism allows earthworms to move efficiently by contracting and extending each segment in sequence.

Scientists study metamerism to understand how segmented body plans evolved in early animals.

A note on using this word

Also refers, in a completely different field, to the optical phenomenon where two colors match under one light source but not another.

Words with a similar meaning

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Another way to use it

2. noun

The phenomenon in which two colors appear to match under one lighting condition but differ under another.

Metamerism caused the fabric swatches to look identical in the store but mismatched in daylight.

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