n. 1 the act or an instance of transforming; the state of being transformed. 2 Zool. a change of form at metamorphosis, esp. of insects, amphibia, etc. 3 the induced or spontaneous change of one element into another. 4 Math. a change from one geometrical figure, expression, or function to another of the same value, magnitude, etc. 5 Biol. the modification of a eukaryotic cell from its normal state to a malignant state. 6 Linguistics a process, with reference to particular rules, by which one grammatical pattern of sentence structure can be converted into another, or the underlying meaning of a sentence can be converted into a statement of syntax. 7 archaic a woman's wig. 8 a sudden dramatic change of scene on stage.
[ ME f. OF transformation or LL transformatio (as TRANSFORM) ]