difformity

Etymology

From Middle French difformité. See difform, deformity.

Why this word is great

DIFFORMITY — [Noun] Irregularity or diversity of form; lack of uniformity. From Middle French difformité, from Latin difformis ("misshapen, irregular"), combining dis- ("apart, away") + forma ("shape, form"). Unlike "deformity" (which implies a grotesque or pathological deviation) or "uniformity" (which flattens all variation into sameness), difformity celebrates the quiet rebellion of the asymmetrical. It is the gnarled oak that refuses to grow straight, the uneven cobblestones of an old market square, or the way clouds scatter across the sky—never repeating, never obeying. A world without difformity would be a world without surprise.

noun

irregularity or diversity of form; lack of uniformity“For whilst they murmur against the present disposure of things, regulating determined realities unto their private optations, they rest not in their established natures, but unwishing their unalterable verities, do tacitly desire in them a difformity from the primitive rule”