Webster's English Dictionary

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metabolism

me.tab.o.lism \m*-'tab-*-.liz-*m\ n [ISV, fr. Gk metabole- change, fr. 
   metaballein to change, fr. Xmeta- + ballein to throw - more at DEVIL 1a: 
   the sum of the processes in the building up and destruction of protopla sm 
   incidental to life; specif : the chemical changes in living cells by which 
   energy is provided for vital processes and activities and new material is 
   assimilated to repair the waste 1b: the sum of the processes by which a 
   particular substance is handled in  the living body 2: METAMORPHOSIS