polytypism

  1. Noun.  The existence of multiple types, especially of multiple subspecies.
  2. Noun.  (context, of crystals) The existence of multiple forms differing in only one of the dimensions of the unit cell.

This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.

This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.