Ba a yawan samun kalmar "hemimetamorphous" a cikin ƙamus, amma ana iya karkasa ta zuwa kashi biyu: "hemi-" ma'ana rabi, da "metamorphous" ma'ana samun canji a tsari ko tsari. A ilmin halitta, "hemimetamorphous" yana nufin wani nau'in metamorphosis wanda bai cika ba wanda kwayoyin halitta ke yin wani sashi ko sannu a hankali a cikin siga yayin da suke tasowa daga matakan matasa zuwa manya. Wannan ya bambanta da kwayoyin halitta na "holometamorphic", irin su malam buɗe ido, waɗanda ke jure wa cikakkiyar metamorphosis kuma suna da matakan tsutsa daban-daban, pupal, da matakan girma. kwayoyin halitta ne kawai ke fuskantar canji a siffa a lokacin zagayowar rayuwarta.