ectomorph

English

Etymology

Derived from ectoderm +‎ -morph from William Herbert Sheldon. Equivalent to ecto- +‎ -morph.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɛktəʊmɔːf/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɛktoʊmɔːɹf/, /ˈɛktəmɔːɹf/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

ectomorph (plural ectomorphs)

1. Someone with a lean, only slightly muscular body
   • 1990, Robert Klitgaard, Tropical Gangsters: One Man's Experience with Development and Decadence in Deepest Africa:

     Also there was a woman I hadn't met, a chain-smoking French ectomorph whose job it was to make sense of records of public spending in the Ministry of Finance.

2. (bodybuilding): Theoretical body type in which a person has a high metabolism. Such a person can easily maintain a low fat physique, but does not add muscle or body weight easily.
   • 2025 February 6, Laura Schober, “Everything To Know About Having an Ectomorph Body Type”, in Health‎:

     The ectomorph body type is characterized by narrow shoulders and hips and a lean build. Its naturally fast metabolism makes it easy for ectomorphs to lose or maintain body fat levels but more difficult to build muscle.

Synonyms

• hard gainer

Derived terms

• ectomorphic
• ectomorphy

Translations

someone with a lean body

French: ectomorphe (fr) Russian: эктомо́рф (ru) m (ektomórf)

See also

• endomorph
• mesomorph