I. ˌtranzfə(r)ˈmāshən, ˌtraan-, -n(t)sf- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin transformation-, transformatio, from Latin transformatus (past participle of transformare to transform) + -ion-, -io -ion
1. : an act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed
in the earliest time … transformations were common, and there was apparently no real line between animal and human — Frederica de Laguna
transformation of the farm lands into a magnificent estate — American Guide Series: Michigan
the transformation of policy into law — A.N.Holcombe
the transformation of men's political thinking — Ellery Sedgwick
the transformation of man's nature in Christ — Dietrich von Hildebrand
2.
a.
(1) : physiological change of one thing into another (as chemicals in assimilation and metabolism or larva into adult through metamorphosis)
(2) : spermiogenesis
(3) : evolution 5b
b. : transmutation d
c. : a change in the atomic arrangement of a metal or metal alloy
3. : transformation scene
4. : false hair especially as worn by a woman to replace or supplement natural hair — compare toupee 2
5. : the changing of an expression, formula, or statement in logic into a different form without altering its substance or intent
6.
a. : the substitution of one configuration (as by rotation or translation) for or the alteration of a mathematical expression (as by change of form or substitution of values) into another in accord with a mathematical rule
b. : a formula or rule governing such a substitution or alteration
II. noun
1.
a. : genetic modification of a bacterium by incorporation of free DNA from another ruptured bacterial cell — compare transduction in the Dict
b. : genetic modification of a cell by the uptake and incorporation of exogenous DNA
2. : one of a set of rules that specify how to convert the deep structures of a language into surface structures ; also : the process or relation specified by such a rule